Economic trouble has come to churches & their congregations

A rapidly growing percent of churches may be sliding into economic difficulty, judging from the results of a February survey by the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA).

Church mission activity cutbacks have more than doubled in the past six months, keeping pace with other economy-related financial difficulties, found the NACBA survey of 800 churches in the U.S. and Canada.

The percent curtailing mission activities more than doubled from 10% in August, 2008, to 24% in February, 2009. So did the percent who said "their church was definitely having economy-related financial difficulties," which more than doubled from 14% in August to 32% in February.

Fully 47% said staff benefits had been frozen or cut at their church, which was more than double the 18% reported in August.

Similarly, "20 percent said they had staff layoffs, and 26 percent reported postponing a major capital project."

Despite those cautionary numbers, most churches are apparently still is good shape. In response to questions on the same survey, 63 percent "said their church saw giving stay the same or climb in 2008 over the previous year. "

“I think we are starting to see more pain felt -- although nothing like in the private sector,” NACBA deputy chief executive and a veteran Baptist church administrator Phil Martin told the Associated Baptist Press. He noted that regional economic differences are having an impact on how churches fare from region to region.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship announced last week that starting March 1, it would cut spending by 20 percent, cut partner funding by 30 percent, cut staff salaries by one percent and implement other cutbacks in anticipation of "worst-case" economic outcomes.

In Sioux City, Iowa, the economy forced 120-year-old Our Savior's Lutheran Church to close its doors. The church held its final service Sunday, with a special luncheon afterward.

Sundaythe Rev. Deb Kociban's at First United Methodist Church in McKeesport, Penn., prayed, "We are anxious, Lord. Help us to set aside the things that are bothering us."

The Pittsburg Tribune-Review wrote:

One by one, congregants raised their hands when she asked if they knew someone in need of individual prayer because of illness, family struggles, lost jobs or other difficulties.

Tony Cartledge found in it all, as faithful men often do, hope:

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.

Perhaps those of us who survive will do so personally as well.

Religious broadcasters under grinding pressure

Religious broadcasters aren't going postal, like their ecclesiastical print brethren. But they are under similar grinding pressure.

They're squeezed between aging audiences, economy-driven declines in ad revenue and donations and competition from free, Web-based audio and video.

Paul Creasman, associate professor of communications at Southern Wesleyan University in Central, S.C. told the Religion News Service:

The industry is at a crossroads. The audience is dwindling, and they have to figure out what to do. But the Web is not the answer because older audiences don't use the Internet . . . and younger audiences will go to the Web for content, but they'll probably be less likely to donate.

So broadcasters are cutting back, postponing investment and otherwise trying to hold on. the Religion News Service reported:

• Christian radio giant Salem Communications sold four stations, cut 10 percent of its workforce and trimmed 5% off all salaries. Salem’s stock prices still tumbled 74 percent last year to less than $1 per share.
• Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the nation’s largest Christian TV network, has laid off workers and scrambled to fill programming holes as T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer and other big-name ministries cut costs by producing fewer shows.
• Focus on the Family, which has produced James Dobson’s radio show since 1977, has eliminated about 450 jobs (30 percent of its workforce) since 2004, including 200 job cuts since November.

Content sources have also been drying up, and not just for TBN. Adelle Banks of Religion News Service wrote last month:

. . . fewer megachurches are involved in TV and radio ministry; the percentage of megachurches with a radio ministry dropped from 44 percent in 2000 to 24 percent in 2008. Likewise, the percentage with television ministries dropped from 38 percent to 23 percent.

For years, Christian broadcasters have speculated that part of the future inevitably lay in moving their content online. As with newspapers, the prevailing wisdom is adapt to the digital age or die. And as with print newspaper Web services, online isn't paying current bills.

Otherwise, they're experimenting with formats, launching new online ministries and hoping for enough in donations to keep them afloat.

Again from Religion News Service:

"You don’t find businesses making sacrifices to make sure advertising dollars are paid to broadcasters. That’s not part of their paradigm,” said Craig Parshall, senior vice president of the National Religious Broadcasters, a 1,400-member organization that held its annual convention last weekend (Feb. 7-10) in Nashville.

“But individual families are willing to be sacrificial because of the mission of Christian broadcasting."

Are they? Still? Anyone who has worked at a newspaper until it closed its doors can recall that belief that things would somehow continue as in the past, until they didn't.

Women's Missionary Union cutbacks are official

Ethics Daily reports that the WMU cutbacks are official. Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) organizations which could have prevented them, did not.

Is anyone smiling?