TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATION IN FUND MANAGEMENT IN RURAL CHURCHES
A Study of the Bukit Horeb Batangbabasal Congregation
Keywords:
Accountability, Church Finance, Congregational Participation, Fundraising, Rural Church, TransparencyAbstract
The church, as both a spiritual and social entity, requires sustainable financial support to sustain its ministries. However, financial management in rural churches often faces challenges such as limited resources, manual record-keeping, and insufficient administrative training. This study aims to examine the fundraising practices of Bukit Horeb Batangbabasal Congregation, a local church in rural Central Sulawesi, focusing on the level of congregational participation, satisfaction with the system implemented, and perceptions of financial transparency. The research employed a quantitative method with a descriptive approach. The findings reveal that congregational participation in fundraising activities is remarkably high, particularly through traditional methods such as worship offerings and special envelopes for major church events. The congregation also expressed high satisfaction with the positive impact of fundraising, although improvements are still needed in terms of the ease of the donation process. Furthermore, perceptions of financial transparency were highly positive, reinforcing trust and participation among members. In conclusion, fundraising in rural churches serves not only as a financial mechanism but also as an expression of solidarity, mutual support, and testimony of faith, with transparency and accountability as the foundational principles for sustaining church ministry.
References
Bevans, S. B. (2002). Model-Model Teologi Kontekstual. Ladalero.
Christanti, R., Wibowo, W. S., & Wijaya, Y. (2023). Perceptions of Church Financial Transparency: Ethical-Theological Analysis and Financial Accountability. Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat, 7(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.46445/ejti.v7i1.616
Cnaan, R. A., & Daniel Heist, H. (2018). Religious Congregations as Community Hubs and Sources of Social Bonding. In Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77416-9_24
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2017). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Sage publications.
Elson, R. J., O’Callaghan, S., & Walker, J. P. (2007). Corporate Governance in Religious Organizations: A Study of Current Practices in the Local Church. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 11(1), 121. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-182468626/corporate-governance-in-religious-organizations-a
Hannyta, C., Sumito, R. D., & Pieter, R. (2024). Penerapan Fungsi Manajemen Gereja di GBI ROCK Pondok Indah Jakarta Selatan. Kingdom, 4(1), 9–20.
Hapsari, D. R. D., & Kurnia Rina Ariani. (2025). Pengaruh Pengetahuan, Kepercayaan, Kemudahan, Dan Media Sosial Terhadap Minat Berdonasi Pada Aplikasi Crowdfunding Kitabisa.Com. Paradoks : Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi, 8(3), 931–945. https://doi.org/10.57178/paradoks.v8i3.1458
Hurampa, M., & Tololiu, N. H. M. (2021). Praktek Pemberian Persembahan di GKST Jemaat Maranatha Lemusa Margaretha Hurampa, Naomi H.M. Tololiu Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah Tentena. 1(1), 40–48.
Irvine, H. (2005). Balancing money and mission in a local church budget. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570510588733
Manguma, V., Randa, F., & Palalangan, C. A. (2020). Mengungkap Praktik Akuntabilitas Dalam Organisasi Gereja Toraja Jemaat Tallunglipu. Jurnal Ilmiah Akuntansi dan Bisnis, 4(2), 165. https://doi.org/10.38043/jiab.v4i2.2328
Mayes, D. (2023). Characteristics of Rural Christian Culture, 1648–1900s. In Christian History in Rural Germany. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004526495_007
Mellows, S., & Bowers du Toit, N. (2023). Social transformation through affirmation of human dignity in a faith-based organisation. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2022.v8n2.a10
Misericordia, M. Della. (2012). The rural communities. In The Italian Renaissance State (hal. 261–283). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511845697.017
Nduru, E. K., Devi Kristi, S., & Kahali, U. N. (2023). Sosialisasi Tentang Pentingnya Kesadaran Dalam Memberikan Persembahan Kepada Tuhan Di Jemaat GKSI Pelita Harapan Lembokodi. Jurnal PKM Setiadharma, 4(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.53687/sjtpk.v5i1.184
Nouwen, H. J. M., & Mogabgab, J. S. (2004). A Spirituality of Fundraising: The Henri Nouwen Spirituality Series. Upper Room Ministries.
Rantesalu, M. B. (2020). Karakter Kejujuran dalam Gereja Masa Kini. Jurnal Ilmu Teologi dan Pendidikan Agama Kristen, 1(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.25278/jitpk.v1i1.475
Reynecke, D., & Du Rand, J. A. (2009). Tithing or not tithing? The funding of the church according to the Book of Acts. Ekklesiastikos Pharos, 91(1), 191–203.
Runtuwene, R., Dama, H., Dungga, M. F., & Pakaya, S. I. (2024). Analisis Efektivitas Pengendalian Keuangan Di Gereja Hosiana Tinelo Kabupaten Gorontalo. Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen dan Bisnis, 7(1), 84–89.
Seiple, R. A. (2010). Fundraising: A Christian perspective on enabling radical hospitality. Review of Faith and International Affairs, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2010.528980
Senoga, W. A. (2023). The effect of accountability, transparency, and integrity of church leaders on fraud prevention in the management of church funds. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 7(1), 1388–1409.
Shumbambiri, G. (2024). Promoting Financial Accountability in Churches & Parachurch Institutions. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, IX(VII), 668–674. https://doi.org/10.51584/IJRIAS.2024.907055
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif. Alfabeta.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Meilike Panggolong, Lefran Lembolangi, Niel Kapoginta Parinsi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Kognisio: Jurnal Teologi Kristen publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Users are free to copy, modify, or redistribute articles for any lawful purpose in any media, provided they give appropriate credit to the original author and Kognisio: Jurnal Teologi Kristen as the publisher, links to the license, indicate if changes have been made, and redistribute any derivative works under the same license.
Article copyright is held by the respective author (s), without limitation. A non-exclusive license is granted to Kognisio: Jurnal Teologi Kristen to publish articles and identify itself as the original publisher, including commercial rights to sell them to libraries and individuals.
By publishing articles in Kognisio: Jurnal Teologi Kristen, authors grant rights to third parties to use their articles to the extent granted by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
