Times test church’s charitable efforts

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Standing before his flock at Grace Point Church in North Las Vegas, Nev., The Rev. Devin Hudson was understandably worried about the congregation’s year-end “vision offering.”

The casino and construction industries were hurting. Foreclosures were rampant. The church’s week-to-week giving was down 20 percent. But the Rev. Mr. Hudson, a 37-year-old T-shirt and jeans kind of evangelical preacher, announced he was setting a higher goal than the previous year and would write a larger personal check then he ever had.

The 800-member church exceeded its goal of $35,000 by $5,000 — an impressive feat in a recession. But that doesn’t tell the whole story: Nearly all of it is dedicated to feeding needy families in the area and other causes outside the church’s walls.

“It builds a lot of trust when I say that I realize where we’re at economically, and we can either cower in fear or stand out in faith,” Mr. Hudson said. “As tempting as it is to roll that money into our budget from last year, God blesses the mentality of giving it away.”

The dismal economy presents a dual challenge for churches: persuading budget-pinched members to open their wallets to both aid charitable causes and to make sure the church lights stay on.

During the critical year-end giving period, several churches say special collections for charity far exceeded expectations. But it remains to be seen whether that outpouring will hurt or help churches meet their budgets. Either way, difficult decisions loom if the economy worsens.

“Churches that give themselves away and are clear that’s what they’re about find a much more resilient and committed support pool,” said Allen Walworth, president of Generis, an Atlanta-based company that advises churches on fundraising. “If a church just seems to be serving itself and protecting itself, it’s going to fall off pretty quickly when people are making their own hard choices.”

Dave Travis of Leadership Network, a networking organization for churches taking innovative approaches to ministry, said that at the churches he’s aware of, about half that make special collections for charitable causes apart from the church suffer declines in general fund giving.

“Church leaders kind of fear that,” he said. “On the other hand, the more you can make tangible the ministry of the church in the local community, the more people will give to that cause. It’s a double-edged sword.”

Comprehensive statistics on year-end giving to churches are not yet available, and early returns are mixed. Donations to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention, which runs on an Oct. 1-Sept. 30 fiscal year, were down almost 5 percent compared with last year. December giving was 29 percent lower.

Economic downturns don’t always hurt churches’ bottom line. During six recessions between 1968 and 1995, donations to Protestant denominations declined three times and increased three times, according to empty tomb inc., which analyzes church giving trends and doesn’t capitalize its name.

“If people are going to cut back, this is probably not the first place they’re going to cut back,” said Sylvia Ronsvalle, the group’s executive vice president. “There’s weekly attendance, accountability to a group of people you know, the needs are right there — and there’s a strong religious impulse.”

In Dallas, First Presbyterian Church asked its 1,600 members to pledge to a $14.5 million capital campaign on Oct. 28, when failed financial institutions and federal bailouts dominated headlines.

“Most of our resources go into our ministry,” said senior pastor Joseph Clifford. “If we’re going to build something for ourselves, it was like ‘Do we want to spend this much money on our own church?’ If we’re going to do that, we better make sure it’s critical to our future and the mission of our ministry.”