U.S. churches find financial transparency
By Ed Stoddard
DALLAS, Sept 4

(Reuters) - The growth of megachurches in the United States has spawned mega revenues, leading many to find the financial light and embrace transparency to assure their congregations that their offerings are well spent.

Many now have come to resemble corporations in their structure, with chief financial officers, lines of credit for expansion projects, and some very large income statements.

"The Bible speaks about money as much as any other topic and so we feel we need to communicate about money or anything financial on a regular basis," said Tim Tracey, Executive Director of Operations at Northland, a megachurch with 12,000 regular worshipers in Longwood, Florida.

"The money that supports a church comes from the congregation and so they need to be informed completely. It's not the leadership's money, it's ultimately God's money," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. the rest