Megachurches Opening Their Books

Recently major megachurches in the U.S. have been following a trend to become financially transparent with congregants and staff personnel, even resembling high-profit corporations in their structure, according to a report by Reuters. From Florida to Illinois to Texas, multi-million dollar megachurches are stressing total disclosure in the area of financial accountability as a way of ensuring safe and healthy giving. “[The congregations] need to be informed completely,” said Tim Tracey, executive director of operations at the Florida-based Northland, A Church Distributed. “It’s not the leadership’s money, it’s ultimately God’s money.” The report also pointed out the work of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), an accreditation agency with 2,000 Christian member groups whose accounting practices are stringently judged.