If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, then you can benefit from the GMS Inner Circle for Churches (GMS ICC)membership. We’ve introduced this new service to address concerns faced by many churches in our community and get them focused on serving their members and communities. Here are some of the reasons why you should join the GMS ICC:
GMS ICC MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
- Church Diagnosis: Upon joining the GMS ICC, the first thing we do is a diagnosis of where you are as a church. Our comprehensive evaluation checklist covers everything from your accounting systems, operational and reporting structure, policies and procedures, training, etc. With this comprehensive analysis, we can identify gaps and opportunities and provide recommendations. This exercise alone is worth much more than your annual membership fees!
- Practical Training from the experts: For those of you that have in-house bookkeepers, accountants or volunteers responsible for your financial information, we can provide training and recommend tools where we’ve identified opportunities for development. We also provide basic training for church leaders and pastors so they can understand how to read and analyse various financial information relevant to the operation of the church.
- Scheduled Quarterly meeting with our partners: Every quarter, one of our partners will meet with you to discuss and review both financial and non-financial information and answer any practical questions you may have. The quarterly meetings are also an opportunity to review progress on any recommendations that have been implemented or any new initiative by your Church.
- Direct Access to our partners: One of the reasons we created GMS ICC is so we could go deeper with you and your church. We are available to answer any burning questions you may have from time to time with no additional costs to you. This is an invaluable benefit as the partners’ hourly rate is over $150 per hour.
- Discounted Accounting Services: We offer comprehensive accounting services that are tailored to meet your specific needs. For all services we provide, GMS ICCmembers get up to 10% discount on our fees. The savings from this alone may be sufficient to pay for your membership.
- Quarterly GMS Charity Newsletter: Every quarter, we issue a comprehensive members-only newsletter addressing various matters relevant to churches. These newsletters are great educational resources and will ensure you’re up to date on matters impacting the charity sector.
- Support from a community of fellow members: Running a church can feel lonely at times, which is why we have placed a high value on community and creating opportunities for our members to interact with one another. The live events we host or recommend for members will provide an opportunity to network with other members and learn from their stories and experiences.
- Private Facebook Members Only Page: To help with connection to the community, you will be added to a private Facebook page where you will have access to other resources, pose burning questions and get help from a community of fellow members on any topic related to running your church. We will also use this page to share valuable resources to help with your ministry.
- FREE live Charity events per annum: At least twice a year, we will invite you to attend a full day or a couple of hours live educational and networking event. The events will feature various speakers addressing a number of topics relevant to the sector. Where applicable, there will be breakfast, lunch or snacks provided for members. These events are FREE for members. Non-members will pay a fee to attend if there is space available.
- Ridiculously Low Price to join: We want GMS ICC membership to be affordable for churches serious about taking control of their organizations. We want to reduce or eliminate some of the challenges faced by churches so you can focus on spreading your message and serving your members and communities. That’s why we have kept the price to $100 per quarter (Fees paid in January, April, July and October each year).
We’ve kept the membership fee very low as we recognize the challenges faced by many churches. Also, as devout Christians in our churches, we want to use this opportunity to give back to the church community.
Since we have limited capacity, the membership is only open to a limited number of churches on a first come first serve basis. We recognize that GMS ICCis not for everyone. But if you are serious about unlocking the potential of your church and taking it to the next level, you can’t afford to miss this opportunity.
And keep in mind,you are not required to be a current or future client of our firm to join. We can work with your current accountant or bookkeeper to ensure you’re getting the full benefit of your membership. Also, there are no contracts and no obligations to stay as a member as you can cancel your membership at any time throughout the year.
