"Lori is a great accountant. In fact, our volunteer treasurer is a partner at a Big Four firm, and so he does big-time corporate accounting for a living, and as a CPA, in his professional opinion, he said, 'Lori is excellent; she's an excellent accountant.'"
— Drew Jones, Executive Pastor
The Challenge
Drew Jones, executive pastor of ChristChurch Presbyterian in Atlanta, Georgia, faced a critical staffing transition when the church's in-house accountant announced she would be moving on. Founded in 1993 in the Buckhead neighborhood, ChristChurch had always taken financial stewardship seriously — and replacing her meant more than just finding a warm body. It meant finding the right fit for a church with unusually rigorous financial standards.
Unlike most churches, ChristChurch Presbyterian holds itself to GAAP — generally accepted accounting principles — and undergoes an external audit every year. That level of compliance required a bookkeeper with specialized knowledge, not just general experience.
"One of the things I appreciated is, unlike most churches, we do have an external audit that we do every year. We are held to a GAAP standard, so generally accepted accounting principles, which is not something that most churches do."
Drew was also exploring a shift to cloud-based accounting, and he was clear about one thing: he did not want a vendor that would force ChristChurch to change its processes to fit a template. He needed a partner willing to listen, adapt, and find exactly the right person — even if that meant going outside the ordinary.
The Solution
From the first conversation, BELAY's approach set it apart. Rather than pushing a one-size-fits-all solution, the team took time to understand ChristChurch Presbyterian's specific needs — and was candid about both what they did well and where they might fall short. When it became clear that GAAP expertise was non-negotiable, BELAY went beyond its existing network to find the right fit.
"BELAY was upfront about whether they'd be able to find the right bookkeeper for us, but they went out of their way to find somebody who was not already in their network. So, they actually recruited somebody [who] had the right skill set and the right accounting knowledge to serve us well."
That specialist was Lori Londagin, a virtual bookkeeper whose expertise made for a smooth and confident onboarding. Using Zoom, QuickBooks, and Bill.com, Lori and Drew quickly established a working rhythm — beginning with weekly meetings and a separate weekly session between Lori and the church's office administrator to manage day-to-day details.
Lori took over the full scope of bookkeeping responsibilities: managing debits and credits, processing payables through Bill.com, and generating automated monthly budget reports for ministry leaders so department heads could track their standing and catch issues early.
"Instead of kind of asking us to change our processes; they were adaptable to make it work for us, and that was great."
— Drew Jones, Executive PastorThe Impact
The impact was felt quickly — and lasted. Drew's meeting cadence with Lori dropped from weekly to monthly, not because of any issue, but because there were simply no concerns left to address. The accounting ran smoothly, and anything that came up was handled at the staff level before it ever reached Drew's desk.
"I'm only really meeting regularly with Lori on a monthly basis [now] because, frankly, I don't have any concerns. Anything that she needs or we need is able to be handled at a lower level."
Lori's work earned a particularly meaningful endorsement: ChristChurch's volunteer treasurer — a partner at a Big Four accounting firm — evaluated her professionally and called her "excellent." For Drew, that validation from a credentialed CPA removed any remaining questions about trust or competence.
Perhaps most significantly, Drew — who holds a professional background in accounting himself — was finally free to lead without distraction. He understood the function deeply, but he also recognized that doing the work himself wasn't the best use of his role. With BELAY handling the books, the accounting could do what it was always meant to do: support the ministry.