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January 2, 2009
Church giving historically strong even in recession
Even though total contributions for 2008 have yet to be tallied, Church financial giving shows signs of recession. As nearly every church leader in the country takes a deep breath before they hit the "Answer Bar" or "=" key on their calculator, we can feel confident that church giving should remain consistent and strong through 2009.
Historical evidence indicates that church giving does not necessarily decline during recession years, according to an analysis of church giving from 1969 to 2008 on Emptytomb.org, an organization that researches church giving patterns on a local level. In fact, the analysis found that church-member giving decreased in only one of the three one-year recessions. Further, giving did not decrease any first years of three multiyear recessions during the period.
The "gloom and doom" stories that seemed to saturate the headlines of the final months of 2008 are likely to continue for the time being. What's important is how we lead our churches through this time. How we handle ourselves will either encourage or discourage faithful giving; it will also have a lot to say about the substance of your faith.
We must remember that God is faithful, and he often uses the most difficult circumstances to realign our focus and reposition our lives. I believe the best days of the Church are ahead of us. As leaders, we have the responsibility to lead this God-ordained and empowered institution to continue the earthly ministry of Christ until his return.
I'm excited about what God has planned for you and your church in 2009. I hope that this blog will encourage conversation about how we can establish processes and systems that will provide more money for more ministry.
Also, I'm beginning to receive invitations to work with local churches and State Conventions as we seek to provide sustainable funding models for churches. If you're interested in exploring how I might be able to work with your church, local Association or State Convention, let me know.
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Posted by bstroup at January 2, 2009 9:24 AM
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I was asked the other day what I thought about the recession and how the recession is hurting the church.
I doubt a recession can really ‘hurt’ the church, but it does hamper our efforts to help a lot of programs that rely upon us.
I decid... [Read More]
Tracked on June 10, 2009 8:56 PM