These past four months, I’ve been given the privilege to manage the finances for my team. Some of you may be going through team changes with new roles and are finding yourselves in this position. Or you are new to the race, and may be given this role at training camp.
TAKE IT IN STRIDE! DON’T RUN FROM IT! In the words of my amazing teammate, frickin walk in the opportunity that God has given to you if you are asked! He will work through you and teach you things during this time that you might miss out on now if you shy away from saying YES.
I struggled with finding joy and blessing others in being a treasurer, and unfortunately that lack of joy has trickled down to people who witnessed my attitude towards this role. Ignore everything you’ve ever heard about being a treasurer and lets start fresh:
Tips to being a bomb diggity treasurer
1) Being a treasurer provides you with invaluable life skills that you will definitely use during and after the race. You will be given a budget, and you’ll find creative ways to stay within it! Forget any lie that tells you you’re too irresponsible or not organized enough, you can do it!
2) Ask for help! Some of you may be independent, but it’s more fun when you do things in community. Invite others in to help you. They can write receipts, and take pictures on your phone. And if you’re anything like me, give up control. If you’ve already budgeted before the race, let people in and TEACH THEM!
a) COMMUNITY: Others know how to buy groceries and use an ATM, so YOU DON’T NEED TO DO EVERYTHING! I was blessed to have a team that would run to the store or ATM for me. Chances are everyone on your team has done those two tasks before, so give up control and let them do it! And if for some reason your teammate comes back with 10 cartons of ice cream instead of your weeks worth of food, well be gracious and give them some important feedback on how it may not be the healthiest option for the future 🙂
3) Your SQA and the other treasurers are vital partners, reach out to them if you need help. Don’t wait until your budget is so out of control that 10 different currencies are spewing out of your wallet, practice humility and ask!
4) Write down (or have someone else write down) the purchase and amount each day. It takes 1min! On the WR an hr may feel like a day, a day like a month, and a month like a year. You will forget what you did the day before… especially what you purchased and for how much. This simple task can be done by any teammate, just make sure it’s done!
5) Communicate with your team: They didn’t get training on how the AIM budget works, so be transparent with the finances. It’s a great way to include your team in on everything and it’s easier when they understand what’s going on. And it’ll also hold you accountable to stewarding the money well.
What God taught me
The most important part of this role includes the lessons I learned from God! These things were revealed to me because I was in this role. Don’t miss out on ALL the things God wants to teach you!
1) Grace: I have a hard time giving grace to myself. Month 3 in Cambodia, I lost a good amount of money. I was nervous to e-mail our squad finance administrator, but his reply came with so much grace and reassurance. That’s when it hit me, if a human being on earth can be this gracious, how much more gracious is our Father in Heaven towards us. I need to stop beating myself up for things, and instead strive forward knowing there’s grace if I stumble.
2) God’s not our fast cash ATM: Questions that were hard as a treasurer included the ones where people wanted responses right away. I didn’t always have the numbers available right in that moment, and God gave me this nudge that maybe my prayers are sometimes like this. I lack patience in praying at times and expect God to answer right away. He’s not our fast cash ATM, and He will answer in the time that’s best for you. So be patient!
How to bless your treasurer 🙂
Give them grace and be patient with them. Don’t seek an immediate response, but give them a little heads up to a question you may have and they’ll look into it. Initiate going to the store or ATM instead of waiting for them to ask you.
At the end of Month 3, I didn’t want to be the treasurer again. But at the end of Month 4, if there’s more that God wants to teach me through being a treasurer, then I would gladly do it again!
