Spending, staffs trimmed in churches’ economic response

The Barna Group released the second of its three-part series today examining how congregations dealt with the multiplied effects of the recession during the fourth quarter of 2009. Data from about 1,100 churches discussed three main ways of belt-tightening – by cutting spending, cutting staff and/or missions and cutting facility-related budgets. The survey showed that 21 percent of churches cut spending, 18 percent cut staff and just 3 percent cut back on facilities. About 45 percent of respondents said they had no made significant changes to ministries as the prevailing opinion seemed to be trimming costs around the margins without sacrificing key services and ministries. For the complete report, see: http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/18-congregations/334-the-economys-impact-on-churches-part-2-of-3-how-churches-have-adapted