David Smith, our Senior Pastor, came across a blog written by Mark Brooks, the Founder and President of The Charis Group, which works with churches in capital campaigns. The blog cited some extremely interesting facts taken from the Wall Street Journal about our current economic crisis as compared to economic crises of the past. For instance,
"Unemployment currently is at 6.1%-- during The Great Depression it was at 25%. Between 1979 -1982 it was at 10.8%. Between 1989 - 1992 it was at 7.8%.
Growth declined during The Great Depression by 13%. It was down 7.8% between 1979 - 1982, down 3.0% between 1989 - 1992 but is only down 0.2 through 2007.
The change in prices during The Great Depression fell by 10.3. They went up by 13.3% during the early ’80’s and by 6.1% between 1989 - 1992. Today prices through August were up 5.4%. With gas falling that should see a decline.
In 1929 the Stock Market crashed. That will never happen again. Here is why:..." and he goes on to cite some of the fail safes in place to prevent the bottom falling out of the stock market. It's an interesting read, especially the last section that draws some conclusions we as church leaders should keep in mind as we see this situation unfolding:
Giving will decline but not drastically. Look for around a 10% decline overall with some churches staying level or even increasing their donations. Churches who have taught stewardship through the years will do better than those that never mention it.
Your budget needs to be cautionary. Now is not the time to drastically increase your budget. Salaries might have to be frozen. Bold initiatives might need to be delayed. However this does not mean that ministry has to stop. It does mean that at least for the first two quarters you need to keep on eye on offerings and expenses.
Life will continue! During the last few recessions that the church has been through we have seen giving drop off in some years and increase in others. You can and will be able to continue ministry. Don’t buy into the panic of the present driven by politicians and the media.
Be realistic but optimistic. Recessions do hurt people. We will experience pain. However we are not and will not be experiencing near the pain of The Great Depression.
Remember who are trust is in! As Christians our trust is not in Wall Street and it most certainly better not be in Washington! Our trust is in the God of the Universe.
Check out the entire article: http://005d0c7.netsolhost.com/blog1/
