Where to look If they do keep records, your first step is deciding what information will best help you answer the main questions you are exploring. For example, if you are exploring the changing sources of and demands on the resources of the group, budgets and annual reports are a logical place to look. Decide on a few key indicators (total income from pledges, for instance, or spending on property and maintenance, mission gifts, denominational assessments). Then track down those figures for the time period you’ve decided is important, put them in a spreadsheet, and recruit someone with skills in working with numbers to produce a report, with a graph that clearly communicates the trends. Looking at budget records in this way can help you see the important values of the community.