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Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada Region

Compass Initiative

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Compass Journey

A one-year program of
training, practice, accountability, and teaching in the area of personal finances and biblical stewardship.
40 Lifelong Learning Hour Credits
Plus a matching grant of up to $5,000 USD

Do I Qualify? Journey Application

The COMPASS Journey is a self-directed adventure in personal finances for senior pastors and associate pastors to improve their personal financial well-being and to empower them to model and teach biblical financial stewardship.

For many pastors, personal finances can be challenging. This program is an opportunity for ministers to tackle those challenges, reduce debt, get serious about saving for retirement, stop living paycheck to paycheck, make important financial decisions (e.g. create a will), and more.

The COMPASS Journey empowers transparent and safe financial conversations between the pastor and spouse, as well as between the pastor and lay leaders. Part of the Journey process also involves stewardship training for the church, helping laity improve their own financial well-being and generosity.

Participant Quotes

It's been an incredible experience! We've enjoyed the challenge of making a plan and getting control over our finances. It's also been a blessing to teach others to manage money well.

- Pastor Joshua

[The Journey] has motivated me to do adult things like creating a will and getting serious about debt pay off. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I have clear next steps and financial goals ahead.

- Pastor Megan

The knowledge and progress I am making in this program have increased my peace and contentment, as I improve my present financial situation and plan for retirement income.

- Pastor Tina

Biblical Stewardship

The COMPASS Journey is an opportunity for a pastor to implement biblical financial stewardship practices in his or her life, and for the pastor to gain confidence in leading the church in these practices.

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The Journey Plan

After being accepted into the COMPASS Journey, the pastor must develop a Journey Plan that includes at least 40 hours of financial and stewardship training for themselves and their congregation. Training materials from the COMPASS Academy are recommended.

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The Journey Team

The pastor and spouse (if married) form a Journey Team with two lay leaders for encouragement and accountability. The lay leaders should be people with financial savvy who could offer sound counsel throughout the Journey and provide consistent prayer for and encouragement to the pastor.

Interactive

Journey Map

CreateEngageReceiveExplorePlot a CourseBegin the JourneyCourse CorrectionsArrive at DestinationEnjoy Newfound Freedom!Explore your needs.Explore the COMPASS Academy.Include your accountability team in the planning process.Fill out each section of the Journey Plan.Submit your Journey Plan and receive approval.Communicate with church leadership.Your COMPASS accountability team advocates for you.Begin folowing your Journey Plan.COMPASS sends the matching grant to the local church.Submit quarterly reports.Submit the final report and the final grant request.The local church gathers its total contribution to your grant.The local church disburses the grant funds.Send receipts for debt payments to The COMPASS Initiative.Explore the needs of your church.Amend your Journey Plan as necessary.

Explore your needs.

Examine your needs by asking yourself the following questions:

  • Do I have a working budget?
  • Do I need to get out of debt? Or build my retirement savings? Or both?
  • What are the areas that cause me trouble?
  • What financial knowledge am I lacking?
  • Which financial skills do I need?

Explore the needs of your church.

Reflect on the history of your church and the people that make up your church.

  • What is the generosity level of my church?
  • Is the church struggling with debt?
  • Are the church members preparing/ready for retirement?
  • Are people tithing?
  • Have we studied biblical stewardship?
  • What is the financial lifestyle of my people?
  • Is there a way to use financial training as outreach?

Explore the COMPASS Academy.

  • Review the sample Journey Plans and sample Training Goals that are available in your COMPASS account. These are intended to get your creative juices flowing.
  • Browse through the resources listed in the COMPASS Academy and make a list of those that might meet the needs of you and your church.
    • Take note of what the resources are, where they are found, and approximately how much time you might spend on them.
    • Your Journey Plan will need to include at least 40 hours of learning, training, or teaching. These can be logged as Lifelong Learning Hours.

Include your accountability team in the planning process.

  • Meet with your accountability team.
  • Be honest with them regarding your financial situation.
  • Invite them to brainstorm solutions with you.
  • Explore the COMPASS Academy resources together.
  • Invite them to assist you in developing the Training Goals sections of your Journey Plan.

Fill out each section of the Journey Plan form.

  • Consider your church’s financial resources when determining your anticipated grant request. This amount may change by the end of your journey depending on the ability of the church to contribute throughout the year-long journey.
  • Provide details in the Training Goals sections.
    DO this: "Watch the following Fidelity videos... for 2.5 hours."
    NOT this: "Watch videos."
  • Be specific about your accountability process.
    DO this: "Each month my accountability team will ask me and my spouse the following questions..."
    NOT this: "Meet monthly."

Submit your plan and receive approval.

  • Submit your Journey Plan by checking the box, “This form is complete and ready for review by the steering committee.” Then select “Save and Submit Form.”
  • You will receive a confirmation email when it is submitted successfully.
  • If needed, you will be contacted for additional information or clarification during the review process.
  • Approval may take several weeks, and you will be notified by email.

Communicate with church leadership.

Discuss your COMPASS Journey Plan with your church board/leadership.

  • Give them a brief overview of the purpose and goals of the program.
  • The local church is expected to raise/contribute at least half of the total grant amount
  • Share this unique opportunity for a matching grant (up to $5,000) from The COMPASS Initiative
  • The church is encouraged to be creative in how the funds are generated. Fund raising, love offerings, budget line item or generous donors are all possibilities

Your COMPASS accountability team advocates for you.

  • Your accountability team should advocate on your behalf with the church board/leadership, as well as with the church body.
  • The specific details of your financial situation do NOT need to be shared with everyone, but allow enough to be shared that they get an idea of your needs.
  • Encourage the team to inspire giving through love, not pity or guilt.

Begin following your Journey Plan.

  • Start your personal training goals.
  • Implement the church training goals.
  • Meet with your accountability team regularly.
  • Empower your accountability team to be your advocates regarding the church contributions for your grant.

Amend your Journey Plan as necessary.

  • If you come across new or additional resources during your year-long journey you may incorporate them into your plan.
  • Changes may also be made if there is something in your plan that needs to change, due to unforeseen circumstances.
  • Email your request for proposed changes to COMPASS@nazarene.org.

Submit quarterly reports.

  • Quarterly reports are due within 15 days of the end of each three month period. These dates are calculated based on the date that your Journey Plan was accepted.
  • The quarterly report forms and due dates are generated when your plan is accepted, and will appear on your COMPASS account page.

The local church gathers its total contribution to your grant.

  • The local church finishes its fundraising efforts and donors make their final contributions toward their pastor’s grant.
  • The COMPASS Team lay leaders inform you of the total funds you will receive from the local church.

Submit the final report and the final grant request.

  • The Final Report is due within 15 days of the end of your one-year COMPASS Journey. This date is calculated based on the date that your Journey Plan was accepted.
  • The final Grant Request form is due at the same time as your final report. Your final request should reflect the reality of what the church has been able to raise/contribute over the course of the year. This may or may not be the same amount you anticipated when you wrote your Journey Plan.
  • Keep in mind that The COMPASS Initiative will match the local church contribution up to $5,000.

COMPASS sends the matching grant to the local church.

  • The COMPASS Initiative will send a check to your local church as a matching grant for the same amount (up to $5,000) that the church is contributing.
  • The church’s contribution as well as the COMPASS matching grant must be considered regular income for you for tax purposes.
  • The income raised by the local church for the matching grant will not increase the church’s allocations.

The local church disburses the grant funds.

  • The local church will disburse all the Student Debt Relief and Personal Debt Relief funds directly to you. You must use these funds to make payments on your respective debts.
  • The local church will report these debt relief funds (church contribution and COMPASS grant) as regular income for you, according to their normal compensation procedures on your tax forms.
  • The local church will disburse all the Retirement Readiness funds as an “employer salary addition” directly into your Nazarene 403(b) account.
  • The local church will report the retirement account deposit with code E as non-taxable income according to their normal compensation procedures on your tax forms.

Send receipts for debt payments to The COMPASS Initiative.

  • Make payments on your student debt or personal debt within 30 days of receiving the funds.
  • Send debt payment confirmations/receipts to The COMPASS Initiative. Digital or electronic copies are preferred. Please direct them to COMPASS@nazarene.org.
  • The COMPASS Initiative will receive confirmation of your retirement account deposits directly from Pensions & Benefits.

A Cooperative Effort

Matching Grants

Ministers who complete the COMPASS Journey program are eligible to receive matching grants of up to $5,000 USD to reduce personal debt and/or to increase retirement savings.

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Local Church

The minister’s local church provides a grant for their pastor to assist in paying down personal debt or for increasing retirement savings, upon completion of the COMPASS program.

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COMPASS

Using the Ministerial Excellence Fund, COMPASS matches the local church grant, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000 USD, essentially doubling the minister’s financial relief.

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Our Goal

Our goal is to reduce the financial strain experienced by a significant number of ministers, thereby freeing them to follow God’s call with fewer financial hindrances.