News from the past week puts in written form what most of us know either instinctively or from personal experience -- the nation's economic malaise is directly impacting both church budgets and the ministries those budgets support.
Receipts are down in at least 57 percent of churches, according to the National Association of Church Business Administration, as reported by Rob Marus of Associated Baptist Press. The study appears to have been based on information gathered from churches large enough to have business administrators on staff, which may or may not skew the results. Anecdotal evidence I hear suggests that churches who aren't facing a downturn in contributions are the exception rather than the rule.
When church income goes down, contributions to causes supported by the church goes down, too. North Carolina is one of many state conventions to face significant budget shortfalls that have led to much pencil sharpening and revising of budgets. Several Southern Baptist seminaries, facing a loss of investment income, have announced significant reductions in spending.
This past week, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship announced in a press release that income is running at seven percent below 2008 and at just 79 percent of its current budget. As a result, the organization is cutting internal spending by 20 percent, and reducing funding for partner organizations by 30 percent. Partner organizations include more than a dozen Baptist divinity schools and entities like Associated Baptist Press, EthicsDaily.com, and Baptists Today. All of those organizations depend on contributions for part of their budgets, and are now hard-pressed to make up the difference.
Similar stories abound, and I suspect we all are familiar with ministries that are struggling to make ends meet. It is a time for digging deeper, casting wider nets, and revisiting priorities. It is a difficult time, but if it drives us to redefine our core missions, a potentially a profitable time.
Successful dieters rejoice when they can tighten their belts and exercise longer. Perhaps some serious revisiting of vision and resources can lead churches and organizations to develop leaner, broader based, and more effective ministries.
We can hope.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
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7 comments:
Maybe the church congregations will find better ways to spend their sparse funds rather than building monuments to themselves in the form of multimillion dollar gyms and spas. A friend recently pointed to his church's new facility and proudly told me how many million it cost. Was it really necessary?
You make a great point, GMM. Of course, it only follows that if the people are spending more than they should on their houses, the church will do so as well. I hate it, but the truth is that if we want to hold the church to living within its means, we have to start with us members. I hope that the current situation will make us take a long, hard look at what stewardship really is.
One thing I'd like to see in these less cash flow times is association wide Sunday Night congregational singings; limited to the Baptist Hymnal of the last 40 years, and what is it, the Standard Hymnal or any hymnal of the last 50 years that has the Ninety and Nine in it; so things don't go too far afield.
When churches have to make significant reductions in expenditures (such as 10% of a budget) that nearly always involves paid staff. That is, most church budgets can't be cut 10% or more without a reduction in personnel. So, on a delayed basis as it relates to the economy as a whole, churches will be contributing to the unemployment stats.
Building funds are not the only way churches spend lots of money. I know a local church that recently spent over $200,000 to have their organ tuned and refurbished.
I just wonder what our heavenly Father thinks about that.
star
Actually my 'pet peeve' is the concept of endowments (I will be a distinct minority here :-) ). The notion that taking funds out of circulation to cause God's Kingdom to expand is a flawed notion. As long as needed ministry is unfunded or under-funded, there should not be any endowment funds anywhere.
The reason for too much going toward facilities and endowments is because we want to maintain an element of control over the future.
Gene,
You are right on about the cutting of staff. Historically, staff consists of 45-55% of a church's budget. Church's who are afraid of cutting staff end up cutting out vital ministries within the church. I am not saying that there isn't usually places to cut back within a church's budget however. A church has to look at its Mission Statement and more importantly, what the Lord has commanded us to do and that is to reach out to the lost. If we lose track of our real mission here on earth, what does that say about where our hearts are.
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