Can you give any practical guidelines for handling the church offering?
Yes, there are several steps you can take to protect your church and those that handle money.
1) Offerings should be kept in a locked/controlled situation and counted as soon as possible.
2) Offerings should be counted by two individuals who are not related.
3) The results should be reported on a tally sheet and signed by both counters.
4) The treasurer (not a counter) receives a copy of the tally sheet.
5) The treasurer compares the tally sheet with the bank statement.