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2009-11-17 issue:

Budgets: many churches making cuts

Mennonite Mutual Aid surveys churches regarding their financial state.

by from MMA's newsletter Teleios

Print Article

How are their congregations' budgets surviving this economic environment? Mennonite Mutual Aid (MMA) sent questionnaires to 200 pastors to ask about the state of their church finances and received 49 responses.

About half the 49 churches made cuts in staff, buildings, ministries or administration during 2008 and 2009.

Congregations are adapting to difficult realities in a variety of ways, including
• reducing the operating budget for next year;
• cutting pastoral support from full-time to half-time and planning a staff reduction;
• reviewing philosophy of ministry, vision and connection to resources;
• placing building projects on hold;
• using any extra funds to reduce church debt;
• reducing staff use of Blackberry and cell phones;
• installing solar panels to provide electricity;
• making a contingency plan if the general fund falls to emergency levels;
• considering sale of the church building and other property;
• going to a variable budget with quarterly updates and revisions.

Yet, as many churches feel pinched, some also have ambitious building programs underway—two of them committed to finishing those programs debt free. Some churches said they are responding to current economic news by swimming upstream. They are
• exploring new ways to find funds and providing new opportunities for volunteers;
• committing to increase outreach funds;
• finishing a third building program in 20 years;
• committing to hold to previous commitments on churchwide and mission giving;
• starting a capital campaign for major building improvements.

MMA asked pastors if their churches had reserves or rainy-day funds available. Twenty-six of the 49 said they have such a fund, while one congregation is considering it. Twenty-eight of 49 churches said they have no debt, 13 are working diligently to reduce their debt load, and one is considering new repayment schedules.

MMA also asked pastors how they viewed fund-raising for special ministries—and whether they might use fund-raisers to fill gaps in the general congregational funds. Over half the responding pastors said they use fund-raising for special ministries, while 16 said they don't ever use fund-raising events. The remaining pastors said they are considering fund-raisers to finance unusual needs or special ministries. Meanwhile, four said they have used extra fund-raisers to fund their general funds.

Some church consultants say electronic giving options increase giving among parishioners, particularly young adults and those who don't attend church every Sunday. MMA also asked pastors if their churches were accepting funds via electronic giving. Only five of the 49 responding pastors said they were accepting funds electronically, and one was considering the idea.

In the end, while many churches respond in the financial heat with needed budget cuts, challenges are just as evident to build faith, strength and resiliency in parishioners. Here are some possible actions, taken from from elca.org, yourchurch.net and mennoniteusa.org for reducing expenses:
• Use electronic newsletters and cut mailing costs when possible.
• Freeze salaries for the year.
• Cut back on food purchased for church events.
• Employ extra watchfulness on giving trends
• Teach biblical stewardship as part of a newlywed class.
• Do a congregational skills audit to determine areas to be more volunteer-driven.
• Re-evaluate core values with wide congregational participation and determine if funding strategies match the core values.
• Give thanks for the blessings of continuing contributors and continue to minister faithfully.

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