http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124993600571820461.html
Slump Strains Church Finances as Need Grows
CARROLLTON, Texas -- When leaders of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship Church
sat down to plan this year's budget, they knew that extra prayer was
in order.
The slowing economy was squeezing the 4,000 members of this
evangelical megachurch outside Dallas, prompting more families to ask
for spiritual and financial help even as fewer could afford to give.
達拉斯一個四千多人的福音派大教會
To cut 10% from its $6 million budget, the church froze staff
salaries, stopped using a daily cleaning service and cut $10,000 from
its lawn-care bill. It also laid off five of its 71 staff members,
including a popular pastor.
Photos
一年預算六百萬美金 (兩億新台幣) 因為金融風暴 要減10%預算
原來71個工作人員 要裁五人
More families ask for spiritual and financial help, even as fewer can
afford to give.
"It was painful, like letting go a close family member," said church
board Chairman Kurt Baxter.
Across the country, congregations of all sizes and denominations are
struggling with issues of faith and finance as the recession grinds
on. Churches are scouring their budgets for wasteful spending. And
many, like Bent Tree, have taken the unusual step of reducing staff.
While the collection plate no longer overflows, churches are seeing an
increase in requests for support -- be it for spiritual guidance,
monetary help or career advice. And religious leaders have the added
task of explaining job losses and pay cuts in spiritual terms.
Churches, synagogues and mosques have historically fared reasonably
well during recessions, even as other institutions struggled. But the
magnitude of the current downturn has caught up with places of
worship, too.
Richard Klopp, associate director of the Lake Institute on Faith and
Giving at Indiana University, said the economic climate for religious
organizations is the worst in at least 30 years, forcing membership
drives and construction projects to take a back seat to balancing the
budget.
"This is the topic of conversation for congregations," Mr. Klopp said.
"All other conversations have ceased."
Many synagogues are seeing more requests for waivers of membership
dues, as well as a decrease in donations, said Rabbi Elliott Kleinman,
spokesman for the Union for Reform Judaism, which represents about 900
congregations in the U.S. and Canada.
"There has been significant tightening of budgets," Rabbi Kleinman
said. "People simply have less money to give."
A handful of churches across the country have faced foreclosure, and
in places like Michigan, the cash crunch has been especially severe.
When asked for examples of struggling churches in the state, Chad
Woltemath, vice president of the Michigan state branch of the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod, asked, "Do you want me to pull out some darts
and throw it at our directory?"
Even in Texas, where the recession was slow to kick in, churches have
been feeling the effects.
On a recent Sunday, nearly 1,500 members attended the morning service
at Bent Tree, a 25-year-old, nondenominational church. In one corner
of the lobby, a coffee bar called the Crossing sold pastries and
espresso. Just outside the sanctuary, water flowed into a Baptismal
pool. Sunday services began with a half-hour of Christian rock, and
some members of the congregation followed the scripture readings on
their iPhones.
At Sunday services and in smaller groups, pastors have emphasized that
hardships are an opportunity to grow closer to God, and that one's
relationship with God and family is more important than material
possessions. "God reminds us that our hope isn't in our 401 (k)," said
Paul Miller, the church's pastor in charge of ministries.
In Carrollton, a sprawling suburbia of cul-de-sacs and neighborhood
pools, the June unemployment rate was 7.4%, below the national average
of 9.5%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Carrollton has
seen the rate rise sharply in recent months.
When Bent Tree held what was intended to be a one-time lecture about
jobs and the economy in April, nearly 90 people showed up. Now, the
church sponsors two meetings a month for the unemployed, regularly
attracting between 12 and 40 people, program leaders said.
A dozen people gathered for a workshop on a recent Wednesday evening
led by Monica Troxel, a former headhunter who herself was laid off in
early June. Attendees swapped job-search stories and business cards
before Ms. Troxel, 48 years old, began weaving faith and job-hunting
tips.
At one point, Ms. Troxel pulled out a $10 bill, crumpled it up and
stomped on it with her foot. She picked up the bill and asked, "Does
anybody want this?"
Her point -- that the job search might trample you, but you aren't any
less valuable -- resonated with Brenda Stringer, who was laid off from
Cox Communications in May. Earlier in the week, Ms. Stringer, 48, had
gone through a lengthy, probing meeting with a potential employer. "I
walked out of that interview feeling like a complete failure," she
said.
But at the church, Ms. Stringer said, she saw other people enduring
the same fears and struggles.
There are other signs of financial stress in the congregation.
Church-run financial-planning classes are packed with as many as 30
couples, and there has been a 13% increase in church members asking
for financial support, Bent Tree leaders said.
"It's no longer just the single mom who needs grocery money coming in
for help," said Dave Dobat, a member of the church's board. "We are
now seeing couples with $300,000 or $400,000 homes that need help with
a big loan payment."
The church has handed out a total of about $90,000 in aid to some 65
families so far this year, Mr. Dobat said.
As the church expands and maintains services to help members through
tough times, even devoted members have had to cut back on monetary
donations.
Bryan Keith, a 39-year-old engineer, has been job hunting for three
months. During that time, he has increased the hours he volunteers at
the church, but cut his financial donations.
"Ten percent of zero is zero," he said. "I can't tithe without a job."
Without the church's budget cut, finances would be uncomfortably tight
right now, leaders said. Instead, the church's general operating fund
has a small surplus.
Donations to the church's benevolence fund have fallen by more than
10%, but several large donations have buoyed both the church's
building fund and a $1 million effort to build missions in places like
India.
But help is needed close to home, too. Jon Jobe, a pastor who serves
the neighboring towns of Lewisville and Plano, keeps a list in his
office of as many as 20 people who have lost jobs.
"Just as soon as I scratch a couple names off the list," Mr. Jobe
said, "I put a few more on."
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