Seth Udinski, FISM News
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have negatively impacted every sphere of life, including the gathering of believers for worship. As churches struggled to stay afloat with limited or no attendance throughout the last 18 months, financial concerns have also grown in local congregations, as most churches receive the bulk of their income from tithes and offerings.
In some good news, it appears many churches are returning to a consistent level of financial health. According to a study released by Lifeway Research in mid-November, many pastors have confirmed that giving has stabilized after a tumultuous year in 2020.
70% of the pastors polled said their giving levels have at least matched their 2021 budget numbers. Almost half (49%) of the pastors polled said the economy is having no impact on the health of their churches. 37% said the economy is negatively impacting their church, while 12% said it has positively impacted it. Many pastors revealed that their churches have reached or exceeded 2020 giving levels, while less than a quarter (22%) said their 2021 giving is lower than that of 2020.
Scott McConnel, executive director of Lifeway Research, said,
Most churches are taking a deep breath financially following the uncertainty of the height of the pandemic…We see great improvement in the number of churches with a downward trend in giving. A year ago, more than a third of churches had seen giving decline, and 13 percentage points fewer say so today. Some of those churches may still be working to get back to 2019 levels, but the number with declining income is back around the historic norm.