Financial Fluency for Pastors

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You don’t need an MBA to lead a financially healthy parish, but you do need to know exactly what the numbers are telling you. For many pastors, looking at a Statement of Activities or a Balance Sheet feels like reading a foreign language. This course is your "Rosetta Stone."

We take the mystery out of parish accounting by walking you through the actual reports you see every month. You will learn to move from "passive approval" of a budget to "active stewardship," ensuring that every dollar in the collection basket is intentionally aligned with your parish and school’s spiritual mission.

This course is an online, self-paced course including the following modules:
  • Module 0 – Course Introduction and Orientation
  • Module 1 – Financial Statements 101
  • Module 2 – Reading Parish Financial Statements
  • Module 3 – Reading Parish School Financial Statements
  • Module 4 – Creating a Parish Budget

What you will be able to do:

  • Decode the Reports: Instantly identify the three most important numbers on your Balance Sheet and what they mean for your parish’s health.

  • Build a Mission-Driven Budget: Move beyond "last year + 5%" to a budget that actually funds your pastoral priorities.

  • Spot Red Flags: Learn the early warning signs of financial instability or lack of internal controls before they become a crisis.

  • Lead the Finance Council: Learn how to ask the right questions during meetings so you remain the leader of the conversation, not just a spectator.

"Speaking the language of the finance council members always built their trust in me. I may not have been an expert like them, but they could tell that I understood what I was doing. Suddenly, they no longer felt like they had to stop me from making a mistake but rather get behind me and support a pastoral plan in numbers." 

Fr. Anthony Stoeppel - Vicar General, Pastor, School President & Seminary Vice-Rector

Click HERE for Biography

Associate Professor of Church Management
The Busch School of Business
The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC)

Completion of this course grants a $149 voucher toward our Graduate Certificate or MCA (Masters of Church Administration). Enroll for $149, and if you choose to pursue a Graduate Certificate or MCA later, your $149 will be applied as a tuition credit.

Most dioceses offer reimbursement for clergy ongoing formation of this kind. Contact your Vicar for Clergy to confirm this course applies to your diocesan policy. 

Total Time: 6 Hours

Completion Time: One Day

Time Saved: Faster Finance Council Meetings, More Immediate Buy-in of the Parish Budget

Solve a Problem: Take a self-paced non-credit course ($109).
Stack Your Skills: Earn your Certificate of Completion and a $109 credit.
Lead the Church: Apply your credits toward a Master of Science in Church Management.

Solve a Problem: Take a self-paced non-credit course.
Stack Your Skills: Earn your Digital Badge and a tuition credit.
Lead the Church: Apply your tuition credits toward a MCA degree.

 

Once you can read the books, you are ready to grow the mission. Our Master’s in Church Management dives into advanced Philanthropy, Capital Campaigns, and Data-Driven Decision Making to take your parish to the next level.


Pathway to Mastery


Is your parish facing financial hardship? We believe no priest should be denied formation due to budget. Click here to apply for a Parish Excellence Grant to your enrollment, or send an email to busch-cmp@cua.edu.

Most dioceses offer reimbursement for clergy ongoing formation of this kind. Contact your Vicar for Clergy to confirm this course applies to your diocesan policy. 

Online, asynchronous through Brightspace at The Catholic University of America.

No in-person or specific course days/times required.

Start and end when you want. 

This course is taught in English. Other languages are available upon request. Please email busch-cmp@cua.edufor more details.

Price: $149.00
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