Financial Integrity and Accountability

The leadership of The Potter's Wheel Christian Fellowship is committed to ensuring that our spending patterns are transparent and exemplary. We are conscious of God's ownership of our assets and the fact that financial gifts have been given to the church by other stewards who are sacrificing to further God's kingdom. Our ministries spend their money carefully and thoughtfully with a view toward our purpose as defined in our mission and vision statements.

The Canadian public generally has high expectations of religious organizations and churches. For the most part, donors and attendees recognize that enormous needs exist that the church is called upon to meet, and they usually want to respond adequately to help the church meet those needs.

However, they also want to be assured that the funds they give, many times sacrificially, are being used effectively and that the church is actively involved in ministering in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. So, there can be no acceptable alternative to financial accountability.

Financial accountability is based on the principle of financial stewardship. A steward is one who occupies the position of manager of the owner's possessions. He or she is required to exercise responsible care over funds and assets entrusted to him or her.

Few stewards attain the position of honor and trustworthiness without submitting to a system of accountability, a system where clear explanations of all financial activity are detailed, recorded, and reported to donors, constituents, and/or attendees.

Because Canadian tax laws provide special tax treatment of churches and religious organizations, churches are being, at the very least, deficient if not deceptive if they don't fully disclose all financial actions and transactions.

The importance of a church having an active board cannot be over emphasized. Active involvement protects the integrity of the church, its leadership, and its objectives and ensures adherence of policies mandated by the board.

The Board of Deacons at The Potter's Wheel Christian Fellowship is made up of five individuals chosen by the congregation annually at our Annual General Meeting. Deacons are elected for a three year term that can be renewed for a second term. Deacons coming to the end of their second term must take a minimum break of one year before letting themselves be nominated anew.

The Board of Deacons meets regularly and its actions are recorded in detail by written minutes. The minutes are then signed and dated by the board secretary and distributed to all members prior to the next meeting. These minutes are read at the next board meeting and approved as read or as corrected by the board.

The Board of Deacons is responsible for the approval and revision of church administrative and/or legislative policy. It serves as the church's administrator of financial accountability; authorizing the church's operating budget; authorizing any major church acquisitions (property, equipment, assets); and reviewing, revising, and/or authorizing the senior pastor's compensation package.