Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
A significant number of church leaders across the country are reporting varying degrees of decline in contributions since the pandemic's lockdown, according to a recently released survey.
The constituency-based survey – called a “State of the Plate” poll – was conducted between April 8-20 and involved more than 1,000 churches across the 50 states, reports Brian Kluth, who organized the effort in conjunction with such organizations as Christianity Today’s Church Law & Tax and NAE Financial Health.
Kluth said the survey revealed that six of 10 churches, or almost two-thirds, were seeing drops in offerings since mid-March when the coronavirus outbreak began and in-person services ceased. Coronavirus causes the deadly disease COVID-19.
“For pastors and church staff, there will be difficult days ahead as more church families are laid off or experience reduced incomes,” Kluth emailed.
Per the survey:
• Thirty-four percent of churches reported offerings falling by 10 to 20-plus percent.
• Twenty-two percent reported a decline of 30 to 50-plus percent.
• And nine percent said they'd seen a drop of 75 percent or more in offerings.
On the brighter side:
• Twenty-seven percent reported that offerings remained steady.
• And eight percent reported that giving had actually increased.
The survey did now identify what factors might account for the latter two statistics, which appear to buck the trend.
Kluth said the decreases in giving would likely lead to tighter church staffing budgets.
“Having been a pastor myself, with three children and a wife who needed major medical treatments, I understand the financial struggle that so many pastors and their families face and the tremendous difference it makes when a congregation shows their pastor they are there for them all the way,” Kluth said.
The plunge in church donations and possible demise of some churches as a consequence of the novel coronavirus pandemic is one that the Washington Post addressed in a recent article.
For support, the Post referenced a 2018-2019 National Congregations Study, which found that about a third of all congregations had no savings. The study also found that “just 20 percent streamed their services, and 48 percent were able to accept donations electronically.”
Never mind that even when churches were able to stream their services, not all its members had access to internet connectivity, while other felt uncomfortable using the technology.
All of which, according to the Post, made it all the more challenging for pastors to serve their congregations and gather donations during the virus shutdown.
Particularly feeling the pain, according to the Post, were small congregations, which constitute about half of the churches across the country.
“Some experts think the coronavirus could reshape the country’s religious landscape and wipe out many small houses of worship,” the Post reported.
Churches being places where older members typically go to seek guidance and find emotional and mental comfort, the latter now are encountering locked buildings and desperate pleas for funds, the Post reported.
One silver lining, according to the article, is a nonprofit named Churches Helping Churches, which solicits money from the larger congregations and foundations and individuals to help the smaller churches. Such efforts, however, are few and far in between.
Some experts, the Post reported, see the virus as a possible accelerant “of a cruel evolution — meaning the end of congregations that have not embraced technology for such functions as streaming services, paying bills and using cloud computing... including congregations with members who can’t afford devices or connectivity.”
Others, on the other hand, see the virus as a possible trigger to a religious revival once people come back together, the Post reported.
The article, however, also quoted Duke University sociologist Mark Chaves, director of the National Congregations Study, who notes that the research from previous recessions shows that the impact from recessions is mostly negative.
“There’s this thing people say, ‘Oh, recessions can be good. People want to come back to religion,’ but it’s the opposite,” Chaves said. “Recessions are very hard on churches because of the financial impact.”