brentbrady.com
Serving on the Shore

It seemed strange to even type that title. The current financial downturn has had a profound impact on many congregations, including mine. According to Barna, 60% of pastors are saying their congregations have been negatively impacted by the economic downturn. The average church experiencing a downturn has lost 14% of its operating budget, some as much as 50%. 30% of respondents said they had decreased their giving to churches (48% to other non-profits) in the last three months. It seems that every week I get an email from a minister friend telling me of a great staff member his church has recently laid off and imploring me to hire them. In fact, 20% of churches have had to eliminate positions, reduce salaries, rely on more volunteer time, and cut hours from full-time to part-time.  The news is not good…but I would like to share some positives I’ve seen come from our time of financial difficulty.

• My church has been forced to take dramatic steps to get financially healthy, many of which we would never have taken if times were good. We are learning that when we pull back and tighten up, God sends blessings on the other side. It is about stewardship. The time of testing has taught us the value of creating margin in our budget so we can weather storms and fully leverage unexpected opportunities. We are also equipping our families to go through the same process. This will have an impact on those families for generations to come.
  

• We’ve been forced to identify our priorities, not just on paper but in our hearts. Paper is easy, but when decisions affect the livelihood of staff families and the future of individual ministries you do not make those decisions lightly. In a downturn we are forced to distinguish between those roles and ministries which are critical to fulfilling our mission and those which are simply very important.
  

• We have seen a burst of creativity among our ministries as leaders seek to continue to deliver vibrant ministry with scarce resources. Scarcity is fertile soil for innovation. God gives us everything we need to accomplish what He is calling us to accomplish, though often it is less than we desire.
  

• Though some have left due to the financial challenges, the core of members that remain are deeply committed to our church family and are investing in the future. Temporary disciples are prevalent when things are going well. When difficulty comes you learn who is really with you. The same was true in Jesus’ ministry.
  

• We have learned that God leads as much by what He withholds as by what He provides. There are times God will not give us what we think we need so He can show us something we would have never seen before. We are learning to ask, God what are you trying to show us through our greatest limitations.

• We have learned that scarcity of resources creates opportunities for partnership. In order for churches to thrive we need to work together. No single congregation can do it all. We are learning to lock arms with others who follow Jesus in order to accomplish His mission in our community.

• We are learning that the most important things about us (as a church) have little to do with money. Though our offerings may be down, God is still alive and active in our times of worship and in the lives of individuals in our family. New people are present every week and are being impacted by the experience. This week we have over 40 homeless men staying in our facility and being blessed by the hospitality of our members. In spite of the challenges, His mission continues.
  

• Because there are upsides, even in a downturn, we are learning to trust in God. Our God is bigger than our bottom line.