Strategic Financial Partnership Frees Growing Church to Focus on Ministry

About Believer's Chapel

Believer's Chapel is a Christ-centered community in Cicero, New York that has welcomed people from all walks of life for nearly 40 years. With a congregation of approximately 500 members, the church serves as a cornerstone in their community, helping people experience God, grow in faith, and live with purpose. Under the leadership of Executive Director Mark Jenkins, Believer's Chapel manages multiple ministries and departments, each with distinct budgets and operational needs. Mark serves as the church's chief operations and financial officer, overseeing budgeting, facilities, human resources, compliance, and all administrative systems.

The Challenge

When Mark Jenkins came to Believer's Chapel from the corporate sector, he brought high expectations for operational excellence. What he found was a financial system that fell short. The church had used the same third-party accounting service for 15 years, but the relationship had become unreliable.

Church financial management requires a unique approach—driven by mission rather than profit, relying on tithes and offerings that must be stewarded with transparency and accountability. Churches manage designated funds for missions, building projects, and capital campaigns, all while balancing IRS compliance with donor intent.

Despite having an external accounting team and technology in place, Believer's Chapel faced critical operational gaps:

• Manual department reporting & budgeting – Mark consistently spent hours creating and sending individual reports to each ministry department manager, reviewing individual budgets, and compiling the master budget.
• Constant provider turnover – Five different accounting leads over 18 months meant repeatedly starting from scratch
• Inadequate reporting – Messy and unformatted Excel spreadsheets required significant cleanup before sharing with leadership
• Transactional relationship – Simple requests from accounting team felt like upcharges rather than a partnership

The Solution

Hiline implemented a comprehensive financial partnership designed for Believer's Chapel's mission-driven needs, which included:

1. Customized Automated Reporting

Tailored monthly department financial reports now automatically generate and distribute on the 15th of each month, eliminating hours of manual work and providing ministry leaders in each department across the organization the transparency they need.

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2. QuickBooks Optimization

Hiline restructured Believer's Chapel's chart of accounts and implemented best practices for multi-department tracking, creating a cleaner system that makes it easier to generate insights and maintain the designated fund tracking that church financial management requires.

3. Enhanced BILL Integration

While already using BILL, Hiline streamlined workflows and processes to ensure seamless integration with overall financial systems.

4. Consistent Weekly Partnership

A dedicated team, led by one of Hiline’s nonprofit accounting leads, Sarah Serbun, conducts weekly 10-30 minute Zoom check-ins that go beyond reviewing numbers. They provide a forum for discussing upcoming initiatives and ensuring alignment on financial and ministry priorities.

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5. Strategic Financial Guidance

Hiline provides proactive insight that helps Believer's Chapel interpret numbers, ensure compliance, and make informed decisions aligned with their mission and long-term sustainability.

The Results

Partnering with Hiline transformed how Believer's Chapel manages financial operations. Mark summarizes the impact through "the three Cs":

• Clarity: Real-time financial insight for confident, informed decisions
• Consistency: Dedicated team with weekly check-ins keeps everything on track
• Capacity: Time freed from manual processes allows focus on ministry instead of spreadsheets

The partnership delivered measurable improvements:

• Automated monthly reporting eliminated hours of manual work
• Professional financial statements strengthened leadership confidence
• Department managers received timely budget information for better stewardship
• Consistent partnership built institutional knowledge
• Strategic guidance improved compliance and decision-making

How Hiline Can Support Your Church

If your church is struggling with inconsistent service, spending valuable ministry time on bookkeeping, or lacking strategic financial insight, Hiline offers the partnership you need.

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Our experienced financial team understands the unique requirements of church financial management—from designated fund tracking to donor stewardship to IRS compliance. We provide expertise and strategic guidance at a fraction of the cost of an in-house finance department.

Set up a time to chat with one of our financial experts today to learn how we can help your church gain clarity, consistency, and capacity to focus on what matters most—your mission.