Church Donations Down, Budgets Cut

According to two recent surveys, the recession is having a serious impact upon church contributions and budgets.
A November survey of 1,002 Protestant pastors by LifeWay Research revealed that:

• Twenty-eight percent of the churches surveyed raised less money in 2009 than they did in 2008.
• Fifty-seven percent said the poor economy was hurting their church.
• Seventy percent reported increased requests from people outside their congregation for financial help.
• Three percent were considering closing down their churches.

The Barna Group, which surveyed 1,114 pastors and church leaders from October to December, discovered that:

• Across all Protestant churches, budgets were down seven percent.
• In churches with attendance between 100 and 250 adults, budgets were down an average of 13 percent.
• Only nine percent of churches had higher giving in 2009 than in 2008.