I’ve noticed a recent trend among churches. The evidence is more anecdotal, but I have no doubt the phenomenon is occurring on a national scale. While more than half of all churches are in some form of attendance decline, a segment of these declining churches experiences either stability in giving or an increase in giving at the same time people are leaving.
This phenomenon is even more amazing when considering general giving trends. Overall, charitable giving is on the rise in the United States, but churches are receiving a smaller portion. In 1987, religious organizations received 53% of all charitable donations. In 2014, religious organizations received only 32% of all charitable giving, a 30-year dramatic downward slide.
What’s happening in churches where giving remains strong while attendance drops? Read More
Several years ago I read an article that drew attention to this phenomenon in the Episcopal Church. If my memory serves me, the author was A Wayne Schwab, the Episcopal Church's long-time Evangelism Officer. When a church lost members and experienced a drop in attendance, the remaining church members were responding by increasing their giving. Some Episcopal dioceses were misinterpreting the increased giving as an indication that the church was still viable. The author, however, concluded that the increased giving was not a reliable measure of the viability of a church.
Not all of that money is from the remaining attendees. I can think of a local church where they get the bulk of their money from a few people who long ago stopped going to church. If that church had to rely solely on those still in the pews it would have died long ago.
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