Two years ago, our church almost didn’t survive.
Not because of declining attendance or theological disputes—but because of a financial scandal that shattered trust overnight.
Our former treasurer had been… creative with the books. When the truth came out, our congregation of 450 members was devastated. Giving dropped 60% in a single month. Families who’d been with us for decades started looking for other churches.
How do you rebuild trust after something like that?
For us, the answer was radical transparency. And beautiful charts were the vehicle.
The Crisis Moment
I’ll never forget the emergency board meeting. Our senior pastor was in tears. Our bank account had $12,000. Our monthly expenses were $47,000.
Someone suggested closing the doors. Someone else suggested a merger with a larger church. The room felt like a funeral.
Then our youngest board member, a 28-year-old software engineer named David, said something that changed everything:
“What if we showed everyone exactly where every dollar goes? Like, actually showed them? Not a PDF no one reads—but real, visual, undeniable transparency?”
The Radical Transparency Experiment
We decided to try something unprecedented for a church our size: monthly visual financial reports shared with the entire congregation.
Not buried in a business meeting. Not available “upon request.” Projected on screen during announcements. Emailed to every member. Posted on our website.
We called it “Open Books Sunday.”
David found ChartPuppy and offered to set it up. Within a week, we had our first visual report.
What We Show Every Month
1. The Income Sources Chart
A simple pie chart showing where money comes from:
- Regular tithes (78%)
- Special offerings (12%)
- Building rentals (6%)
- Investment income (4%)
No hiding. No vague categories like “miscellaneous.”
2. The Expense Breakdown
A bar chart showing every expense category:
- Staff salaries and benefits
- Building and utilities
- Missions and outreach
- Children and youth programs
- Worship and music
- Administrative costs
- Emergency fund contribution
Every bar has a dollar amount. Every bar is explained.
3. The Budget vs. Actual
A comparison showing our plan versus reality. When we’re over budget on something, it’s red. When we’re under, it’s green. Members see exactly how we’re tracking.
4. The Cash Flow Timeline
A line chart showing our bank balance over the past 12 months. You can see the seasonal patterns—the summer slump, the December surge. You can also see our safety margin (or lack thereof).
5. The Missions Impact Chart
This was David’s suggestion: show where outreach dollars actually go. A horizontal bar chart showing each missions partner and their allocation. People give more generously when they can see the impact.
The First Open Books Sunday
I was terrified.
What if people saw the numbers and panicked? What if they questioned every line item? What if it made things worse?
We projected the charts during our announcement time. I explained each one in plain language. No financial jargon. No defensive tone. Just: “Here’s what came in. Here’s where it went. Here are our challenges. Here’s our plan.”
The sanctuary was silent.
Then something beautiful happened: applause.
People weren’t angry. They were relieved. For the first time, they could see that their giving mattered. They could see we weren’t hiding anything. They could see a path forward.
The Results After Two Years
| Metric | Crisis Month | Two Years Later |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly giving | $18,700 | $52,400 |
| Giving households | 89 | 178 |
| Monthly attendance | 180 | 340 |
| Trust rating (survey) | 23% | 91% |
Giving increased 180%. Not despite the transparency—because of it.
Why Visual Reports Work for Churches
1. They Respect People’s Time
Our members are busy. They’re not going to read a 10-page financial statement. But they’ll look at five clear charts for two minutes. That’s enough to build trust.
2. They’re Impossible to Manipulate
A spreadsheet can hide things in complex formulas. A visual chart is honest by nature. What you see is what there is.
3. They Tell a Story
Numbers on a page are abstract. A chart showing our missions giving growing month after month? That’s a story of generosity. People want to be part of that story.
4. They Invite Questions
When something looks unusual in a chart, members ask about it. That’s good! It means they’re engaged. We’d rather answer honest questions than deal with whispered suspicions.
The Surprise Benefit: Better Decisions
Here’s something we didn’t expect: the charts made us better stewards.
When you know everyone will see a visual representation of every spending decision, you think harder about those decisions. Our board meetings are more focused. Our budgeting is more careful. We can’t hide a bad choice in a spreadsheet column.
The accountability works both ways.
How We Use ChartPuppy
David set up templates that connect to our church management software:
- Weekly: Income chart updates automatically from online giving data
- Monthly: Full report generates on the 5th for review
- Quarterly: Year-over-year comparisons for board meetings
- Annually: Full visual annual report for congregational meeting
My involvement? About 30 minutes per month reviewing and adding context. ChartPuppy handles the heavy lifting.
Advice for Other Churches and Nonprofits
Start Before a Crisis
Don’t wait for a scandal to embrace transparency. Start now, when trust is high. It’s much easier to maintain trust than rebuild it.
Keep It Simple
You don’t need 20 charts. Five clear visualizations that answer the basic questions: Where does money come from? Where does it go? Are we on track? What’s our outlook?
Explain, Don’t Defend
When presenting charts, use explanatory language, not defensive language. “Here’s what this shows” rather than “This isn’t as bad as it looks.”
Celebrate Generosity
Use charts to celebrate, not just report. When giving hits a milestone, make a beautiful chart and thank people publicly. Gratitude inspires more generosity.
Be Consistent
We show charts every month without fail. The consistency itself builds trust. If you only show reports when things are good, people notice.
The Culture Shift
Two years later, our congregation has a completely different relationship with church finances.
Members approach me after services to discuss the charts—not with suspicion, but with genuine interest. “I noticed building costs were up last month. Was that the roof repair?” Yes, it was. And it feels wonderful to have that conversation openly.
New members tell us the transparency was a factor in choosing our church. In a world where institutions are distrusted by default, our radical openness stands out.
The Deeper Lesson
The scandal nearly destroyed us. But it also forced us to become the church we should have been all along: honest, open, accountable.
The charts aren’t just financial reports. They’re a statement of values. They say: “We trust you with the truth. We believe you can handle it. We’re all in this together.”
That message, delivered visually every month, healed wounds that words alone never could.
If You’re in Crisis
If your organization is facing a trust crisis, I have one piece of advice: go transparent faster and further than you think you should.
Don’t release a statement. Release the data. Don’t promise accountability. Show it in living color.
It’s scary. It requires vulnerability. It might surface uncomfortable questions.
But it works. Our church is living proof.
Pastor Robert Kim serves as Associate Pastor and Treasurer at Grace Community Church in suburban Chicago. He holds an M.Div from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a surprising enthusiasm for financial charts. Grace Community’s “Open Books” approach has been featured in Christianity Today and is now used as a model by other churches in their denomination.