Where Does Your Dollar Actually Go When You Tithe to a Mega Church?

Where Does Your Dollar Actually Go When You Tithe to a Mega Church?

I still work in the Mega Church industry, so I have to keep myself anonymous for now. Truth be told, I even had to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) at a previous church to prevent too much exposure about what really goes on behind the scenes.

Have you ever wondered where your money goes when you tithe to a mega church?

No, seriously. Where does it all go? Does it end up in the pastor’s pocket? Are we funding a new private jet? Are we building a go-kart track on the roof?

In my experience at some of the largest churches in America, I’ve seen consistent trends in how budgets are allocated.

Sure, there are the obvious outliers. Pastors with jets. Multi-million dollar homes bought with church funds. But I trust you're wise enough to avoid those kinds of churches.

That’s not what I’m talking about here.

I’m talking about your everyday 1,000+ person church. Filled with well-intentioned staff and good-hearted leadership… that still allocates money in a way that should make us uncomfortable.

Let’s Talk About That Dollar You Gave

Say you went to Random Action Verb Church last Sunday and dropped $1 into the offering bucket. Where does that dollar go?

Let’s break it down.

50 cents: Staff SalariesNot just the senior pastor. Though he makes the most, obviously. This chunk is split among all church staff. Tech, admin, kids’ ministry, operations, worship, communications. You name it.

25 cents: The BuildingMortgage. Rent. Utilities. Maintenance. Security. Landscaping. That beautiful space you worship in eats up a quarter of every dollar.

10 cents: Ministry ProgramsChildren’s ministry. Youth (if there’s anything left over, haha). Guest services. Tech upgrades. Worship equipment. Curriculum. Small groups. All the things that create the Sunday experience.

3 cents: Admin and OperationsOffice supplies. Planning tools. Software. Insurance. Wi-Fi. Printer ink. All the invisible stuff that costs way more than you think.

2 cents: Savings, Capital, and Debt RepaymentThis includes building funds, emergency savings, and debt payments. Most churches use a “one fund” approach. Which means once you donate, the money can technically be allocated anywhere.

10 cents: MissionsAnd here’s the one we all want to believe is the biggest slice of the pie.

Let’s Pause Here

We’ve just accounted for the full $1 you gave. And in the best-case scenario, only 10 cents of it goes toward missions. But even that is deceiving.

As someone who has stood on stage hundreds of times to lead offering moments, I was trained to highlight a single point of impact. Something to inspire people and show how their giving is making a difference.

I’d share a moving story. A compelling stat. Maybe even a global partner highlight. Then I’d land the plane with something like, “Without your generosity, this wouldn’t be possible.”

I’m not proud of that line. But it’s what we were trained to say.

Here’s the painful truth. Most churches don’t even use that full 10 cents for missions.

A Real Story

At one point, I was overseeing a $5 million annual budget. Out of that, we allocated just $2,500 per month toward benevolence and local nonprofit partnerships. That’s 0.006 percent. And that was only if the person needing help was part of our church.

Let that sink in.We gave less than one-tenth of one percent to helping financially struggling people in our community.

Meanwhile, we’d pull in six figures in giving from a single weekend service. And then I’d drive home past homeless men on the corner. Underfunded sober-living homes. Families crushed under poverty. All within a few miles of our building.

And what haunted me most?They believed they were helping their city by giving through us.

Because I told them they were.

Why Don’t Churches Share Their Financials?

You ever wonder why most churches don’t just show you a clean breakdown of where the money goes?

Legally, they don’t have to. That’s the excuse. But why wouldn’t they, just for the sake of accountability and trust?

Because of this exact “Where Your Dollar Goes” scenario.

If most people knew that for every dollar they give, maybe 3 to 5 cents actually helps someone in crisis, would they still be excited to give?

Instead, what do churches do?

They put together a glossy “Year-End Impact Report.”

And I’ve helped create dozens of them.

They’re filled with vague metrics. Heartwarming stories. Beautifully designed graphics.

They tell you how many people were baptized. How many kids went to camp. How many gallons of water were sent to another country.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are good things.

But here’s what they don’t tell you.

What percentage of the budget was spent on actual local or global missions. How much went to salaries.

How much went to the light show and haze machines.

How much went into a building you can’t even use during the week.

I’m just saying. “75 baptisms” sounds a lot different when it cost $5 million to make it happen.

The Church Finance Norms

The budget breakdown I shared earlier isn’t just anecdotal. It’s backed by The Unstuck Group, which surveys hundreds of churches to define what “normal” looks like in church budgeting.

Here’s their recommended range:

Category	% of Budget	Notes
Staffing	45 to 55 percent (up to 60)	Salaries, benefits, payroll costs
Facilities	20 to 25 percent	Mortgage, rent, utilities
Ministry Programs	10 to 15 percent	Kids, students, worship, tech, groups
Missions and Outreach	5 to 10 percent	Local and global outreach
Admin and Operations	5 to 10 percent	Software, insurance, supplies
Savings and Other	0 to 5 percent	Debt reduction, emergency funds, building reserves

That missions and outreach line?

It’s not primarily about helping your city. A large chunk of that typically goes to planting new churches. Which then go on to mirror the same budget structure.

It’s a closed system. Constantly replicating itself.

The Real Problem

The average church’s idea of success has shifted from transformed lives to:

How many campuses do we have?

How many seats are filled?

How healthy is our bottom line?

And don’t get me wrong. Your local pastor probably isn’t trying to be dishonest.

They’re just doing what they were taught by the churches before them. Churches are planting churches who budget like the churches that planted them.

It’s not malicious. It’s just broken.

So What Now?

Let me say this clearly. There are outlier churches who get it right.

Some give 50 percent or more of their funds directly to local and global mission efforts.

Some pastors are bi-vocational.

Some churches have figured out how to fund staff through outside donors and use general tithes to directly impact the community.

If you're at a church like that, don’t leave. You’ve found gold.

But for the rest of us, let’s just be honest.

You don’t need a $5 million budget to see 100 salvations and 75 baptisms.

We don’t need bigger buildings.We need bigger hearts.

Final Thoughts

Dear Church Leader,

Make your financials public.

Not because you have to. Because it's the right thing to do.

If people saw that 3 to 5 cents of every dollar they give is all that goes toward their city or global crisis efforts, would they be okay with that?

I don’t think they would.

And I know I’m not.