We Finally Have a Bank Account

That is correct, sports fans! Ridge Church now has a bank account. That means that we not only can accept donations as a church, we can also deposit them... Sort of an important step on the road to planting a church that impacts the community with God's love.

May I recommend SunTrust Bank if you have a branch in your area? Their business customer support center people are great. Incorporating in Tennessee was an important step in making the bank account setup process easier, but you can set up an account if you are unincorporated (a general association) as well.

SunTrust can actually set your account up over the phone and mail you the signature cards and other info that your check signers need. The cards can be returned by mail or handed in at a local branch. You can fund the new account with an electronic check from a personal bank account, or just deposit money into the branch. The electronic check thing was great for us, since we haven't quite moved to the area yet, but are asking financial supporters for donations.

Anyway, you know you have a smart guy on the other end of the line when he knows about church financial concepts, wants to encourage you not to sign the checks as the lead pastor/planter (which I'm not going to do!), and recommends an operating account and an expense account that are linked. Great expertise really puts you at ease.

So, enough of my soapbox, but SunTrust rocks so far.