Lifeway asked pastors how the economy is treating their churches. Nearly half, 49 percent, said it is hurting them. Church income is going up in raw dollars, but it is not keeping pace with inflation. In plain terms, more money is coming in and it buys less than it used to.
So budget meetings are tense right now. And in almost every church I know, when the budget gets tight, media is one of the first lines somebody points at.
49%
of pastors say the current economy is negatively impacting their church (Lifeway Research, 2026)
I run a film company. You would expect me to tell you never to cut media. I am not going to do that, because it would not be true and you would know it. Sometimes cutting is the right call. What matters is cutting the right things for the right reasons.
So here is the honest framework I would use if I sat in your budget meeting.
First, separate the two kinds of media spending
Almost every church media budget is really two budgets wearing one label, and they should not be judged the same way.
| Keeping the lights on | Moving the mission | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Livestream, sound, slides, cameras, subscriptions | A film for a campaign, a story that gets shared, an invite piece |
| What it does | Serves people already coming | Reaches people not yet coming, or moves people to act |
| How to judge it | Is it reliable? Is it the cheapest reliable option? | Did it do the one job we gave it? |
| When money is tight | Trim costs, keep function | Do fewer, better. Never do a worse version of all of them. |
Most budget fights go sideways because these get lumped together. Somebody says cut media, and the church ends up with a worse livestream and no campaign film, which is the worst of both.
When money is tight, the right move is almost never to do everything at lower quality. It is to do fewer things at full quality and stop the rest on purpose.
The question that settles most arguments
Here is the one question I would put to any media line item, and it works whether you are a church of 80 or a nonprofit with a staff of 30.
If this disappeared tomorrow, what specifically would stop happening?
If the answer is clear and concrete, keep it. If the answer is fuzzy, that is not a budget problem. That is a strategy problem, and cutting it may be the kindest thing you can do.
Examples of clear answers. If we cut the livestream, forty homebound members lose their only weekly connection. If we cut the campaign film, we have no way to explain the building need to people who cannot attend the town hall.
Examples of fuzzy answers. We would post less. Our social presence would suffer. We would look less professional. Those are activities, not outcomes, and no board should fund an activity.
What to cut first, in order
Subscriptions nobody named
Pull the last twelve months of charges and find every recurring tool. Most churches find two or three nobody can explain. Free money, no ministry cost.
Volume for the sake of volume
Posting five times a week because a consultant said so is the most expensive habit in church communication, paid in staff hours. Cut to what you can do well.
Gear upgrades that solve a want
If the current camera works, the new camera is not a ministry decision. Almost nobody has ever said they did not give because the footage was 4K instead of 1080.
Anything with no named owner
If no single person is responsible for a channel or tool, it is already half dead. Formally end it instead of letting it drain hours.
Notice what is not on that list. Telling stories about real people is not on it. That is usually the last thing to cut, because it is the only line that directly helps people give, show up, and invite someone.
How to make the case to your board
Most media budget requests fail for the same reason. They are written in the language of production and read by people who think in the language of outcomes.
Do not walk in asking for a video. Walk in with a problem the board already agrees is real, and a number attached.
- Weak: "We would like to budget for a video this year."
- Strong: "Forty percent of our giving comes in during the last six weeks of the year. Right now we explain that season with a letter. I want one film that we use in every service, in every email, and on the giving page, and I want to compare December to last December."
The second version gives them a decision they can actually make. It names the outcome, sets a measure, and admits it can be judged. Boards say yes to that far more often than to a line item labeled media.
Never ask for a budget for a thing. Ask for a budget for an outcome, and name how you will know if it worked. That single change wins more approvals than any argument about quality.
When you should not hire anyone
Since I make films for a living, let me be straight about when you should not call someone like me.
- You do not yet know what the film is supposed to accomplish. Get clear first, or you will pay to produce your own confusion.
- The need is weekly and ongoing. That is a volunteer or staff rhythm, not a production budget.
- You are hoping a film fixes a problem that is really about follow-up, hospitality, or leadership. Film makes an existing message travel further. It does not create one.
A good film is worth real money when there is one clear moment, one clear ask, and one clear audience. That is the whole test. Outside of that, save your money.
If you are heading into a budget conversation soon, we made a one-page sheet to take with you. It walks you through naming the outcome, the measure, and the cost in language a finance team responds to. Free, and no meeting required.
Get the free One-Page Media Budget Case and walk into your next board meeting with a real answer.
Get the Free Budget Case
