The Client:
Victory Church began in 2000 when Glenn and Linda Eberly took a step of faith and started a church in their living room. In 2006, Pastor Curt and Pam Seaburg became the lead pastors, bringing with them a continued passion for helping people. Today, people from all over Lancaster County gather at various campuses of Victory Church. With six locations, the church strives to provide a small community atmosphere backed by the support and resources of a larger church.
With multiple campuses, creating efficiencies and keeping overhead manageable is important so that church members and the communities in which they live will benefit the most from church resources.
The Challenge:
Seth Barstow, the Executive Director of Operations, oversees the business and financial operations of the church. During the pandemic, Victory Church found themselves in need of filling an in-house finance director position to navigate through the financial challenges of that time. Now, as they strategize for the church’s future, migrating to an outsourced model is of interest. Outsourcing presented an opportunity to evaluate ways to streamline operations, particularly those identified by staff as pain-points, including concerns about outdated processes and a lack of confidence in their books, financial reporting and P&L.
It was important to Seth and the team that their ministry guided the creation of financial processes and strategies. They didn’t want to take business practices and force-fit them into their organization; rather, it was critical to build strategies and practices to support the church’s heart and mission.
When the church was confident that outsourced accounting was the most effective approach, RKL Virtual was chosen as the partner.
The RKL Approach:
Initially, RKL Virtual’s Accounting & Financial Management team spent time understanding Victory Church’s unique challenges and desires. With expertise in faith-based organizations, RKL Virtual’s team quickly understood their challenges and offered solutions to address the bookkeeping needs presented.
To begin, the team determined that the best way to build a strong foundation was to start from scratch. Though there were years of historical data, with a lack of confidence looming, beginning to lay a new foundation provided the best path to success. Sage Intacct and Bill.com were implemented and prior years’ data was mapped to the new system. New processes and systems were created, while time-consuming and error-prone tasks were automated. Reporting also transitioned from manual, spreadsheet-based to automated, simple reporting. The RKL Virtual team manages the day-to-day bookkeeping tasks while keeping the Victory team informed and updated at a regular cadence.
The Results:
With the new technology and automation in place, as well as a dedicated team at RKL Virtual managing the day-to-day, Victory Church now focuses its energy on the continued expansion and growth of its ministry in new communities. They have confidence in their financial information, their yearly reviews are smoother than previously experienced, and their processes are simplified and automated to save time and build confidence in the output.
The responsiveness and faith-based expertise the RKL Virtual team provides have been instrumental in forging a strong relationship and continuing to find opportunities for automation and improvement. The RKL Virtual team is a trusted extension of Victory Church, allowing Victory to leverage the vast expertise the firm brings while benefitting from the support of a dedicated day-to-day account manager.
To learn more about how RKL Virtual can drive real results for your organization, send us a message or contact one of our local offices.
