(RNS) — Sixty-five percent of churches have seen a decline in giving since mid-March as congregations have halted in-person services due to the coronavirus, according to a new survey.
The “State of the Plate” survey released Wednesday (April 22) by the National Association of Evangelicals found that a third of churches — 34 percent — reported that giving had dropped between 10 percent and 20 percent. About 1 in 5 churches (22 percent) said the decline was between 30 percent and 50 percent. Almost a tenth of churches (9 percent) reported a drop of 75 percent or more in giving to their congregations.
Just 8 percent of churches said giving had increased, and 27 percent reported steady offerings.
The survey conducted between April 8 and April 20 of 1,091 mostly Protestant churches in the U.S. asked church leaders how COVID-19 shutdowns affected their church’s giving. The research involved participants such as Christianity Today’s Church Law & Tax and the NAE Financial Health initiative.
Brian Kluth, who started the State of the Plate research after the 2008 financial crisis, predicted that the findings could lead to tighter budgets for congregations and their staff members.
“What’s surprising is they’re much deeper and far-reaching than what happened in the recession,” he said in an interview, referring to the Great Recession in the late 2000s. “This is a major…
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