How does the need for fundraising and concerns about paying bills, etc affect other churches?

[Calm]

I have been thinking tonight in depth about how the wealth of the Church has made so many significant and subtle changes in social dynamics and demands on both an institutional and local level in just my lifetime.

I am only speculating here, but I can imagine there was significantly more stress on a bishop and on others who had delegated responsibilities when he was accountable for budget and building needs as well as tithing and fast offerings. Seems like finances took a much higher time and mental energy commitment except perhaps in wards with generous wealthy members and in those, then bishops would have had to struggle with not letting members who contributed a significant part of needed funds from dictating decisions and policies and the ward life overall.

And that took me to wondering about how leaders cope with financial needs in other faiths and what part fundraising played in church life (when I was younger, I remember a lot more talk from the pulpit and in classes and especially in casual conversation about church money and the impact on families and I very much remember a ward conflict over deciding whether to renovate or scrap the building and build from scratch because my dad was vigorously leading the smaller renovate forces).  The only exposure I have had to how other churches handle financial issues and how it affects social dynamics and leaders’ lives are the numerous films and shows that show ministers struggling with a domineering parishioner (The Bishop’s Wife).  It is a common theme of Agatha Christie (The Murder at the Vicarage).  It is a common theme of many manor mysteries these days (which tend to have an anti religion slant even if the main character is a minister/priest), the higher ups of the local ministers are often obsessed with power and kiss up to the wealthy and constantly threaten to sack or transfer the minister who neglects the finances.  I even see it quite a bit in Asian films where money concerns worry even the uncorrupted pastors of Christian faiths.

So what is it like in real life?  I did a search on fundraising and churches in England because stories with drives to raise money to replace a church roof or plots that depend on opening up sacred places to secular purposes to keep a church operating popped up in my mind and I found this:

https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/making-changes-your-building-and-churchyard/raise-funds
 

Quote

Fundraising should be the top priority for your church. But only for a set time. Depending on your project, your appeal should be finished in about two years:

I am hoping I am not catching nuances because I can see circumstances where as soon as one project is resolved, another pops up so fundraising becomes the habitual top priority for a church in that case and that seems just wrong.  But the first sentence there was shocking enough to me I felt it worthwhile to get input for the input of actual members of other faiths on the reality.  I may thinking they forgot to add some qualifiers…but what if they didn’t?

So please share your experiences.  I know there aren’t that many of you, but it seems a good place to start.  Much easier to ask for clarifications from you than a website like the above.   (What do you mean fundraising should be the top priority of a church, even for just two years?  What about the reason for your existence, the spiritual welfare of your parishioners?  What priority are they?  Do you actually mean top priority of the finance side of church operation only perhaps?)

[rpn]

I'll never forget a woman who was married to a not just a non-member but a minister in a different faith.  One day he read in the Ensign mag (or the earlier magazine, I don't recall the exact date) that was focused on tithing that month.   After that he brought it to their church leaders who agreed to let him preach it.  The reason the woman was sharing this with me is that his response to her (and his congregants) was he didn't understand how tithing wasn't taught in their denomination training even though it was in the bible and solved all of his congregations problems.