Survey: Church budgets trimmed in 2009

A survey released Monday by the Christian research firm The Barna Group shows that church budgets were generally cut in 2009 but that some stabilizing may be taking place. A total of 1,114 Protestant pastors were survey during the fourth quarter of the year. Fifty-seven percent said the recession had affected bottom lines negatively, but only 8 percent reported it was very negative. Thirty-five percent said there was no significant trending either way and 9 percent beat the odds and said their ledgers were in better shape that 2008. Large churches reported being under more financial strain than smaller churches. The types of churches most likely to say their budget was down included charismatic denominations, black churches, Southern Baptists, congregations located in the Northeast, and those whose pastors earn less than $40,000. For complete survey results see: http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/18-congregations/327-the-economys-impact-on-churches-congregational-budgets-part-1-of-3