AcctTwo Blog

A few months ago, at our Faith-Based Finance Collaborative, AcctTwo's Managed Accounting Services Controller, Shelly Einspahr, and Covenant Church's COO, Brian Coleman, sat down and talked about how we work together. Little did we know back at the end of February, our world was going to change dramatically in a matter of weeks. The news about COVID-19 was still somewhat sparse, mainly impacting China, Italy, and starting to creep into California – specifically around San Francisco. Churches went from serving thousands to having to pivot and become virtual. In fact, the whole world had to pivot and become remote. Figuring out how all the pieces fit together and how to maintain business-as-usual was a challenge. Even for organizations that have had cloud-based infrastructure in place, it was still challenging at times because most of us went from working 9-to-5 to working 24/7 which included, parenting and homeschooling.

Recently we sponsored and attended the Texas Ministry Conference in Houston, Texas. The vision of the Texas Ministry Conference is to provide tools and resources for people in all types of ministry and ministry support.

Last week marked our 5th annual Faith-Based Finance Collaborative. This year our client, Concord Church of Dallas, hosted us in their beautiful facility. We are blessed with so many amazing clients and partners.

At AcctTwo, since our team comes from the faith-based community, we not only understand how important it is for you to focus on your mission, we help you do it!

Recently the AcctTwo faith-based nonprofit team attended The Pushpay Summit at Gateway Church in Dallas, Texas. The Pushpay Summit is not your standard church conference. With over 1500 attendees, you could feel the energy in the room. Ministry really matters at this conference and it is resonated throughout every session and absorbed in every conversation.

A growing church is a blessing, but can be a challenge too. When membership soars from a few hundred to a few thousand church operations take on an entirely new character. Accounting becomes far more complex as both donations and expenses multiply. Plus, administrators have to juggle that extra accounting on top of the day-to-day needs of an expanding ministry. Needless to say, growing pains are common.

In 1972, Sharon Johnson went to Haiti to direct a choir that was traveling around the country. As she looked into the faces in the crowds, she fell in love with the people of Haiti. She returned each year with her husband, Bob, and over time, they felt the need to provide the people of Haiti with help every day and not just once or twice a year. In 1983 they formed what is today Mission of Hope: Haiti (MOH).

Officially founded in 1998, MOH has since grown from a small mission located on a barren piece of land, to a fruitful organization that now houses an onsite orphanage, medical facility, school, and church. Through partnerships, MOH also serves outside of its property by helping other orphanages, churches, and schools throughout the country.

When the tech-giant Sage announced plans to acquire Intacct we were excited for several reasons. Obviously, the resources of Sage Intacct would grow, which would allow us to offer more to clients, but we also knew that Sage shared our deep commitment to giving.

There are two developments transforming the way that churches operate. First, churches are increasingly relying on technology to manage large congregations, different initiatives and departments, and ever-expanding footprints. Second, they are increasingly obligated to practice accounting with the sophistication and transparency that people expect from major companies and large nonprofits.

Monty Carpenter, Director of Business Administration, and Libni Rodriguez, Director of Project Management, at Gateway Church in Dallas/Ft. Worth talk about their relationship with AcctTwo and the benefits of Sage Intacct's best-in-class accounting and ERP software for churches and faith-based organizations.