Church members giving less, report says

Per-member giving in Protestant churches fell in 2008 and 2009.

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 12:39 AM Monday, October 31, 2011

The church collection basket may be a little lighter at some area parishes, as per-member giving has dropped to its lowest level in more than 40 years, according to a new report.

The portion of income contributed to mainline and evangelical Protestant churches in 2009 was 2.38 percent, which represents a 23 percent decline from 3.11 percent of income in 1968, according to “The State of Church Giving through 2009,” a report released this month by Empty Tomb Inc., a Christian research agency based in Champaign, Ill.

Churches are keeping a greater share of those donations for their own needs and spending less on beyond-the-church charities, the report said.

Some local churches are experiencing increased giving, while others are “struggling,” said Frank McQuarry, president of the Greater Dayton chapter of the National Association of Church Business Administration. “It could be the demographics of their congregation. Some have been hit harder by the economy than others,” he said.

Per-member giving to Protestant churches in 2008 fell for the first time in 41 years, and dropped again in 2009, said Sylvia Ronsvalle, Empty Tomb’s executive vice president and the report’s co-author. Previously, contributions had gone up every year “no matter whether there was a recession or not,” she said.

National data was not available for Roman Catholic churches, but the trends are broadly representative of all U.S. denominations, Ronsvalle said.

Total Sunday offerings collections from Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati increased more than 7 percent from $102.45 million in 2006 to $109.75 million in 2008, but dropped nearly 1.8 percent to $107.79 million in 2009, said Dan Andriacco, an archdiocese spokesman. Sunday offerings remained flat in 2010 at $107.84 million.

“The net effect after five years is they are still up by $5 million over 2006,” Andriacco said.

“Giving USA 2011,” a report by the Chicago-based Giving USA Foundation, found that charitable giving to religious organizations declined 0.8 percent between 2008 and 2010 at the height of the recession.

Before the recent declines church giving was thought to be prioritized just behind family spending, Ronsvalle said. “If there was broader economic difficulty, church would be the last thing to be cut back, right before the family,” she said.

The Empty Tomb report shows no clear pattern for the declines in church giving, even in periods of recession. Recent economic woes were a likely factor, but long-term trends indicate a change in lifestyles, with people spending more on things like multiple cars and expensive travel than in past years, Ronsvalle said.

“Consequently, what we are seeing is that church is reflecting a smaller overall portion of our lifestyles over a long period of time,” she said.

More alarming was the drop in church “benevolence” spending, Ronsvalle said. Only 0.34 percent of per-member giving goes to charities, seminary training and missionaries, according to the report. That represents a drop of 48 percent from 0.66 percent of parishioner income in 1968.

The data indicates that churches are “turning inward” and spending more on facilities and programs that attract people, Ronsvalle said. “The church becomes a retreat rather than a base from which to go out and change the world,” she said.

McQuarry, business administrator for Christian Life Center, said giving last year at his church totaled 103 percent of the operating budget for the congregation, which is affiliated with the Assembles of God.

The Christian Life Center is a “blue-collar church,” with some members who have lost jobs or are working at lower wages than several years ago, McQuarry said. Church attendance is increasing, which “may help to mitigate that,” he said.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Catholic Ministries Appeal, an annual collection that supports six regional ministries that benefit thousands of people throughout 19 counties in western and southwestern Ohio, declined more than 29 percent from $3.51 million in 2007 to $2.48 percent million in 2008, but rebounded to $3.41 million in 2009, Andriacco said. “Certainly 2008 was a difficult economic year,” he said.

McQuarry said he couldn’t explain why giving was down at some area churches. However, those churches that are experiencing continued or increased giving are “creating a vision,” he said.

“When people see the results of their giving they are more inclined to participate,” McQuarry said. “I think I do see that common element in those churches that are experiencing growth. They do have a compelling vision for their congregation to give to.”