About 40 percent of Protestant pastors say their churches received more offerings in 2017 than in 2016, according to a new report from LifeWay Research, which found that for the first time since 2009 the majority of pastors say the economy isn’t troubling their church.
The survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors by the Nashville-based group showed that three-quarters say their church met or exceeded their budget, and only about a third say the economy gave their church trouble.
“Overall, 2017 was a good year for church budgets,” Scott McConnell, executive director, said. “Except for isolated local downturns, the financial struggles of churches not meeting budget likely have nothing to do with the overall economy.”
McConnell added that the past decade had been difficult for many church budgets, but “things seem to be looking up.”
When the Great Recession peaked in 2010, 80 percent of pastors had said the economy had a negative effect on the church budget, but it dropped to 51 percent by March 2016, LifeWay said.
In the latest survey, only 35 percent of pastors — mostly African-American and pastors of churches…
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