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When Crossroads Christian Fellowship in Rockford, Illinois, a church with a new 300-seat sanctuary, needed new flooring for a large portion of its administrative area, Pastor Randy Hargate researched the choices. "There were many types of flooring to choose from," he says, "everything from hardwood to carpeting."

The options available to the church varied widely in price—but the purchase price was not Hargate's primary consideration in making his decision. Instead, he based his decision on the total lifecycle cost, a strategy long-known in business circles, and one that church leaders and business administrators can use to help ensure better, longer-lasting purchases get made.

The pastor did his homework, studying the utility of the products relative to their total costs, which included the prices of the flooring, the costs of installation, the costs of maintenance throughout each product's lifetime, and the eventual replacement costs, among other things.

"After exploring the installation problems associated with hardwood and our all-cement floor, and the carpeting possibility, which did not seem to work for us, I decided to go with rubber-plank flooring," explains Hargate.

Once he chose the best possible solution based on several factors, only then did he turn his attention to the best possible price. "Our local stores were not very aggressive for the sale, so I went on the Net and shopped," he says.

That effort saved the church 37 percent compared to the local dealer's price.

Had Hargate focused solely on the lowest price, it may have led to an unsatisfactory product, and quite possibly a higher overall cost in the long run. Had he focused on the highest quality product available, it may have led to a higher-priced selection that didn't best apply to his church's situation.

His situation illustrates the usefulness of calculating lifecycle costs, serving as a vivid reminder that rock-bottom prices don't always equate to good stewardship for churches, even when tougher economic times tighten budgets for decision-makers. 

In the corporate world, money is spent to further the business goals of the corporation. Executives are held accountable by a board of directors, employees, shareholders, and creditors for how money is spent. Likewise, people who donate funds to churches hold their leaders accountable for how finances are handled. While they aren't looking for a financial return on their money, donors do expect the money to effectively advance ministry goals. It's often called "stewardship," but the definitions churches use often are short-sighted ones.

Good stewardship is not about getting the lowest price possible for a product or service. Nor is it about buying the highest quality available. Rather, it's about getting the most effective use from ministry funds. There are right ways and wrong ways to evaluate a potential purchase. Unfortunately, many ministry dollars are wasted on "good deals."

As consumers, we are ingrained with the importance of purchase price. Retail businesses understand the shopper's fixation with price, and they work hard to create the reputation of offering the lowest purchase price. Quality, value, and the true costs of purchasing and owning the product are often secondary thoughts.

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