Posted: 01/11/2010 at 4:32pm | IP Logged

Barna Study Investigates Economy's Impact on Church Budgets

The Barna Group

VENTURA, CA - Overall, 57% of pastors said the economy has negatively impacted their church over the last year. Still, only 8% of leaders said the effect was “very negative.” About one-third of leaders (35%) describe their churches as unaffected by the economy, while one of 11 churches (9%) defied the odds and described the last year as financially positive.

Across all Protestant churches, budgets are down about 7% from a year ago, though that indicator masks extremes. The typical “down” church has lost, on average, 14% of its budget. Among those churches with contracting income, smaller churches were the hardest hit: churches of 100 or fewer adults who had shrinking revenue had lost 16%; those with 100 to 250 adults were off by 13%; churches with 251-999 adults were down 11%; and churches of 1,000 or more adults were down 9%.

Some churches have been even more significantly hurt by the economy than others: one out of every 11 churches (9%) has lost 20% or more of their budget from 12 months ago. Within that proportion are 2% of churches with incomes off by 35% or more. Among the rare churches that have grown financially, the average annual budget increase was 10%.

Interestingly, large churches were more likely to report being under financial duress than were small churches, even though their budgets were not down as much percentage-wise. Among churches of 250-plus adult attenders, 71% of these leaders said the economy had affected them negatively, compared to 55% of smaller bodies. Perhaps clergy who work at larger churches feel the tightening more painfully because, in aggregate terms, their larger budgets account for a decrease in a greater number of total dollars.

The types of churches most likely to say their budget was down included charismatic denominations, black churches, Southern Baptists, congregations located in the Northeast, and those whose pastors earn less than $40,000. Among the most likely groups to report a “very negative” impact of the economy were multisite congregations (i.e., churches that meet in more than one location). Overall, 16% of these churches said the economy had been particularly harsh, compared with 6% of other large churches.

The churches that held their ground in the last year were most likely to be mainline congregations, those located in the Midwest, and those led by pastors earning between $40,000 and $60,000. Seminary graduates, younger pastors, and those in full-time ministry 10-19 years were among the church leaders most likely to experience favorable budget growth in the last year – though even among these groups financial improvement was not the norm.

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Source:  Barna.org

© 2010 The Barna Group

Editor's Note:  The study was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009 among a nationwide sample of 1,114 Protestant leaders.