We’re Coming

10/23/2018

I was at the registration table that morning of the Church Management Seminar in St. Louis Missouri. Pastor Elkins was the first one to check in and since the rush had not yet begun he decided to engage me in conversation. One of his first remarks to me was, “I don’t really believe our Church needs this because as a Church, the IRS will not bother us. I am only here because my Church Board insisted that I attend.”

As I listened to him, a gentleman who was attending a different conference in the room next to us approached the table. The gentleman asked what our conference was about and I informed him that it was a Clergy and Church Tax and Management Seminar. It was then he told Pastor Elkins and me that he used to Pastor a Church in West Virginia, and although he had the best CPA in town, the CPA could not stay abreast of Church and non-profit tax law. He then explained how he and his Church almost became a casualty of the IRS. When I asked him what happened, he didn’t tell either of us, but he did state that he then made the decision to leave the ministry and join the IRS as an Investigator—investigating Churches and non-profits.

Pastor Elkins Receives Shocking News

The former West Virginia Pastor then informed us that the meeting next door to ours was a Federal Marshall and IRS Criminal Investigator’s seminar. At that moment the former Pastor turned IRS investigator looked at Pastor Elkins and offered him this advice: “You better listen and heed everything that is taught in this Clergy and Church Tax Seminar because we are coming!”

Unfortunately Pastor Elkins’ shock did not end there. The class progressed throughout the morning and into the afternoon session as one of our seminars typically does. Right after the afternoon break, during the second round of the question and answer section, a gentleman who had been quiet for the whole class raised his hand to ask a question.

When I acknowledged him, he stood, gave the class his name, his Church name, Pastor’s name and then informed us that he had just been appointed as a Trustee in his Church. However, before he asked his question he revealed a shocking revelation—he was an IRS auditor for the for profit division of the IRS. When his Church made him a Trustee, he knew he needed to attend our seminar to discover what was required of a Church. I told him I appreciated him attending, but then what he said next shocked all of us. His words were, “The IRS is planning a huge push into Church and non-profit investigations and he could not afford for his Church to be one they investigated and it be out of compliance—especially with him (an IRS agent) on the Church Board.”

You Don’t Have the Luxury of Doing Nothing

With IRS investigations on the rise, especially in the last part of this year and the year approaching, what you do not know will hurt you tremendously. There are 45 new tax changes that can greatly affect a Church. If you do not know these changes and do not have them in place in your Church there will be some drastic consequences for the Pastor and Board.

The worst mistake a Pastor or Church Board can make is to assume their Church is IRS compliant. Even if your Church is compliant, you don’t have the luxury of assuming. You must attend the nearest Church Management Conference NOW! If your Church is compliant it is better to attend the conference and know for certain than to assume you are compliant and have the IRS assess penalties and possible criminal charges against the Pastor and Board. “AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE.”

We Are Coming to a Location Near You

It is imperative that every Pastor and Board Member go to www.cmtc.org or call 800-344-0076 immediately to locate the conference nearest them and register. Two IRS agents on the same day in St. Louis, MO said the exact same thing: “You better be ready—We are coming.”

As the Number One Church and Clergy Tax and Management firm in the nation, we know what others do not. If you will do that which we suggest, the IRS will never be a worry to you or your Church. Go online or call now to register. The livelihood of the Pastor, the Church Board, and the Church depend upon it!

By Dr. Micheal Chitwood

What You Will Learn at our Conferences

Our Church Management Conferences will arm you with the information you must have to shield your Church or Ministry from IRS intrusiveness; teach you how to get your Taxes to the lowest possible rate; and daily operate your Church or Ministry within IRS acceptable guidelines.

Our Conferences have been taught across the Nation for over 48 years. Because of the Penalties, Fines, and even Imprisonment that the IRS imposed on many Churches and Pastors, Dr. Chitwood felt led by the Holy Spirit to become a buffer between Churches, Ministers, and the IRS.