Unlimited Needs. Limited Funds. What now?
Unlimited Needs. Limited Funds. What Now?
I love Christmas. The month of December is filled with light and song. Gifts and generosity are shown to both loved ones and strangers during this month. But I’m also aware that winter can bring a lot of stress and need.
“We can’t pay rent”
“Our furnace broke, and we don’t have the money to repair it”
Or the now infamous “I need baby formula”
And as someone who monitors and often has the responsibility to create budgets, I feel that tension. How do you help people with real, seemingly unlimited needs while working with a limited budget?
So how do we help generously and responsibly?
Here is a practical plan to live that out this Christmas season.
1. The First Time Someone Asks for Help, Help Them
The first time is grace. Say yes.
There is no greater “Jesus moment” than meeting someone at their lowest and lifting a burden they cannot carry on their own—paying rent so a family isn’t evicted, buying formula for a newborn, helping with a heating bill.
This is the moment for compassion.
From a Canadian standpoint, your church is allowed to give benevolence freely—as long as the help is based on genuine need, properly documented, and not directed by a donor to an individual. A simple request form and a short explanation of the need will keep you CRA-aligned.
But the heart of this step is simple:
First ask = first yes.
2. The Second Time They Ask, There’s Now Accountability
Just being real here—there is almost always a second time.
Not because people are taking advantage, but because things aren’t that simple. Poverty rarely has a single cause.
So when someone returns for help, we bring them into a bigger plan.
This is the time to:
· Look at their household budget
· Identify gaps or patterns
· Understand whether the issue is short-term, long-term, or systemic
· Offer tools, not just transactions
This is where compassion meets stewardship. You will still help, but it becomes guided help, with ownership shared. This step naturally becomes a filter—supporting those who will truly use the help to move forward.
3. Accountability, Where to Get it?
Many adults were never taught how to budget, save, or get out of debt. These skills can be learned, and there are great resources available.
Here are a few options:
Run a Financial Peace or budgeting small group
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/money/financial-peace — excellent for structure and accountability.
Partner with Christians Against Poverty (CAP Canada)
https://www.capcanada.org/ — specialists in debt coaching and long-term financial recovery.
Create a small team of trusted financial mentors
Wise, discreet people willing to walk with someone over time.
This shifts benevolence from treating the symptom to curing the cause. That’s discipleship. That’s transformation. And it’s something churches do amazingly well.
4. Special Benevolence Offering
People are unbelievably kind when they know their giving has structure, purpose, and impact.
Most congregations want to give above and beyond—especially at Christmas—when they trust the church has a thoughtful, responsible plan for benevolence.
A special benevolence offering does two things:
It builds capacity.
You’re no longer trying to stretch a tiny budget to meet overwhelming needs. You can plan to say yes to that first ask. This becomes a ministry all on its own.
It builds community.
When people understand how your benevolence fund works, how decisions are made, how accountability is built in, and how lives are actually impacted, they lean in.
Take one Sunday this December to share stories, outline your process, and invite people to give. You may be surprised at how your congregation responds.
Impact
Churches operate with limited resources so yes, responsible stewardship is vital (my entire career is based on that). But so is compassion. That’s what made Jesus different. He had compassion. He loved people. He helped, and he was kind. So fundamentally simple, yet so powerful it changed the entire world.
So create a plan now. That will allow you to readily say yes to that next phone call. You could be making a God shaped impact in that life, and plus, it just feels so good to say yes.
To help you get started, we created a basic Church Benevolence Policy Draft and a Benevolence Request Form with the help of our handy AI assistant ChatGPT (Check out our last article on some clever prompts to use). Use this as a starting point, edit it to your church and community and talk to the board about a plan.
And for all you do, for all your church does do every day, thank you.