More Protestant churches feel economic pain

Updated 4h 31m ago

By Dennis Drenner for USA TODAY
File photo of church collection plates in Chambersburgh, Pa., last year. Downtown in giving is hitting smaller congregations hard.

By Bob Smietana The (Nashville) Tennessean

The recession is dipping into church collection plates.

A growing number of Protestant congregations have seen their Sunday collections drop this year, according to a survey by LifeWay Research on the economic health of churches. Pastors blame high unemployment and a drop-off in giving by members.

To make ends meet, churches have laid off staff and frozen salaries, put off major capital projects and cut back on programs. At the same time, more of their congregation members and neighbors are asking for help with basic needs like paying the rent and buying groceries, the study found.
About half of Americans identify themselves as Protestant, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

More than a third of churches surveyed said donations dropped in 2010, and overall donations were down 3%, according to LifeWay Research, a Nashville-based religion research organization.
That's a turnaround from the past two years, when churches had been mostly recession-proof, said Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay.

A similar survey last year showed that offerings were up slightly.

"It's kind of surprising that churches took so long to see a downturn," McConnell said.

CREATIVE STRATEGY: Faith-based fundraisers
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For their study, LifeWay surveyed 1,000 Protestant pastors across the country. Thirty-four percent said donations were down. Nearly one in five churches said offerings had dropped by 10%. About half of churches said giving is underbudget in 2009.

The Vine Street Christian Church in Nashville has run a planned deficit the past two years. Budget shortfalls were covered by reserves built up over good economic times.

"We're living off the fat years," said Thomas Kleinert, the church's senior minister.

The downtown has hit smaller congregations hardest. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church in Nashville, said that Sunday offerings had remained steady. But special offerings — such as annual women's and men's day events — were down $20,000 this year.

"Instead of giving money to the church, members are giving to their kids or grandkids to help them pay the mortgage," he said.

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