Beyond the Ordinary

Single in the Pews: A True or False Quiz

By Deborah Bruce

True or False:  Most worshipers attend with a spouse.  False.  While it might seem as though your sanctuary is filled with couples worshiping together, only half of worshipers overall attend with a spouse or partner. 

Let’s look just at worshipers who are married (66% are), since they’re most likely to attend with a spouse or partner.  Overall, only three in ten married worshipers (30%) attend without their spouse. 

True or False:  Women are more likely than men to worship without their spouse.  True.  Four in ten married women (38%) attend worship without their spouse.  Among married men, only two in ten (21%) come to church without their spouse.  This difference helps drive the fact that there are more women in the pews than men. (Read Where do Men Go to Church?  Seven Misconceptions.)

True or False:  Having children at home doesn’t have much impact on attending alone.  True.  One-third of married worshipers with children living at home (32%) attend worship alone, and almost as many married worshipers without kids at home (29%) attend alone.

True or False:  Younger worshipers are more likely to worship without their spouse.  True.  In general, older people are more likely to come to worship with a spouse.  About three in ten of those under the age of 65 (31%) attend worship without their spouse, but only one-quarter of those who are aged 65 or older (26%) attend alone.

True or False:  Catholics are more likely to worship without their spouse.  True.  Married Catholics are more likely to come without a spouse (34%) than are married worshipers in mainline (27%) or conservative (24%) Protestant churches.

What can your congregation do to encourage those partners and spouses who aren’t coming to worship to give it a try? 

Secrets to a full collection plate, part 1

By Cynthia Woolever

First, some basic facts. The typical worshiper gives an average of just under $1,500 each year to their local church. That’s about $125 each month, or around $58 each week. How did we get these numbers? We asked a key leader in each participating congregation (selected as a national representative sample in 2008/2009) to report the total income received from individual donations. We took this dollar figure and divided by the average worship attendance reported by the congregation.

As the table below shows, the highest average (median) individual donation was among mainline Protestant churches—$1,627 contributed by each worshiper per year. Conservative Protestant worshipers donated slightly less, on average. Worshipers in Catholic parishes seem to contribute the least on an annual basis—$727 in donations for each worshiper. While the giving pattern clearly varies by faith tradition, the differences do not meet the standards for statistical significance. In other words, the differences in per worshiper giving between the three faith traditions shown below could be due to chance or the character of this particular sample. 

Median Annual Individual Donation per Worshiper by Faith Tradition

	Catholic	Mainline Protestant	Conservative Protestant	TOTAL
Contributions per worshiper	$727	$1,627	$1,448	$1,497

Church size plays an important role. Many observers assume that large churches have an advantage because the largest churches also raise the most money. While larger congregations have larger total contributions, more worshipers doesn’t translate into higher per-person giving rates. In fact, the opposite is true—the largest churches report the lowest levels of average giving per worshiper—just $758 a year. Typical annual worshiper giving levels in small and medium-size churches are very similar (see the table below). Social scientists have documented that as church size increases, more participants become “free riders” who enjoy the benefits of the congregation’s ministries, but who financially contribute little or nothing at all. 

Median Annual Individual Donation per Worshiper by Church Size (average worship attendance)

	Small >101	Medium 101-350	Large 350+	TOTAL
Contributions per worshiper	$1,530	$1,656	$758	$1,497

* Statistically significant difference at the .001 level.

Secret # 1: An Annual Financial Stewardship Campaign? Many church leaders struggle with how to ask worshipers for money to support the congregation’s ministry. Some strategies work better than others do. Church experts believe a well-designed and executed annual campaign that invites worshipers to go on record with a financial pledge or commitment yields the best outcomes.

We asked a key leader if the congregation conducts an annual financial stewardship campaign. This lets us look at the bottom line—how much was raised through individual donations in churches that used a campaign vs. those that did not?

Seven in ten mainline Protestant churches hold an annual financial campaign (70% do so; 30% do not).  Very few conservative Protestant churches—only 14%—use the annual campaign strategy. About half of Catholic parishes report that they use some form of annual campaign as a fundraising strategy.

Mainline Protestant churches that use an annual campaign generate more revenue per worshiper than churches that attempt to raise funds without such a strategy. The table below shows that among mainline Protestant churches, per person giving is significantly higher in those churches that use a campaign compared in those that don’t. (The difference is too great to be due to chance.)

The annual contribution per worshiper in Catholic parishes and in conservative Protestant churches is about the same whether the church uses a financial campaign or not. The results do not meet the standard statistical tests for significance (the figures could be a result of chance). This suggests that factors other than this particular strategy play a more important role in the bottom line for these congregations.

Median Annual Individual Donation per Worshiper by Annual Financial Campaign

	Catholic	Mainline Protestant	Conservative Protestant
Conducts annual campaign for funds?
Yes	54%	70%	14%
No	46%	30%	86%
Median contributions per worshiper by use of stewardship campaign:		*
Yes	$724	$1,814	$1,746
No	$797	$1,300	$1,429

* Statistically significant difference at the .001 level.

What’s the best advice? Every congregation should conduct an effective annual stewardship campaign! Stay tuned for the next post and the second secret about getting to the bottom of a full collection plate.

Do pray tell

By Ida Smith-Williams

A nightly ritual in our house is saying a bedtime prayer with my five-year-old daughter.  It’s been a learning experience for both of us!  Her list of who and what she wants to pray for gets longer and longer each night.  I think sometimes she gets God and Santa Claus confused!  We’ve removed inanimate objects from the prayer list (such as her stuffed animals), so we’re making progress.  I do think she is learning compassion as she prays for family members, friends, and teachers.

How often do worshipers pray?  Nearly seven out of ten worshipers spend time praying on their own on a daily basis (68%).  This has stayed steady since 2001. 

 
What do worshipers pray for?  Like my daughter, three-quarters of worshipers pray daily for themselves or their family members (74%).  Fewer than three in ten (29%) worshipers pray daily for world peace or an end to war, and one-quarter (26%) pray daily for an end to world hunger or poverty.

 

Do national and international events influence prayer?  When asked if they prayed more often than previously because of national or world events in the previous five years, three-quarters of worshipers said they did to some extent (75%).  Few (17%) increased their prayer a great deal.   

 
Do prayers make a difference?  Three out of five worshipers think prayers make a difference regardless of events (62%).  When asked “because of national or world events in the past five years, to what extent have you doubted whether your prayers made a difference?” only one in ten had much doubt about the effectiveness of their prayers (9%).

 

How is your prayer life?  Do, pray tell your story. 

Where does the money come from? Financing the local church

By Cynthia Woolever

First, some basic facts. Across denominations and faith traditions, the most reported major source of congregational income is what individuals contribute through their offerings, pledges, donations, and dues. In short, most churches operate on what individuals give. (One leader from each participating congregation reported the three largest sources of income for the congregation.)

For mainline Protestant churches, the second most common big financial source is income from trust funds, investments, or bequests (48%).

In contrast, the second most common major source of income for Catholic parishes is charges for use of congregational facilities (41%).

Fewer conservative Protestant churches receive much income from investments (only 20% cited investments as a major income source) or facility use charges (about 14% said this is one of their big income sources).

 
Does the size of the church determine where the money comes from? Yes and no. Regardless of church size, one of the three biggest sources of congregational income is what individuals contribute through their offerings, pledges, donations, and dues. But size does matter for some types of income flow. One-third of medium-size and large congregations receive funds from facility charges. We can assume that churches with more worshipers also have more spacious church facilities, and that leads to more diverse usage. Four in ten small churches (with fewer than 100 worshipers) rely on income from trust funds, investments and bequests.

 
How big is the individual gift slice of the whole budget pie? On average, congregations receive about 91% of their funds from individuals’ donations. Among Catholic parishes, 84% of funds come from individuals’ donations; among mainline Protestant churches, 90% of funds come from individuals’ gifts. The highest percentage of income coming from individual donations—the biggest slice—is among conservative Protestant churches, where 97% of the income comes from these individual gifts.
 
What is your church’s bottom line? Based on theology and tradition, many congregational leaders believe that living members should fund the church’s current ministries. What are your congregation’s funding sources? Have the proportions coming from various funding sources changed in the past ten years? Are the proportions consistent with the church’s theology and mission?

Does your congregation have an endowment? If not, would members consider establishing an endowment as an opportunity worth exploring? If the congregation has an endowment, is the use of this resource consistent with the church’s theology and mission?

Has your congregation explored alternative funding options in the past year? If not, what promising avenues might be possible now?

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Learn more about congregational giving.

Small but mighty

By Deborah Bruce

Small congregations with fewer than 100 people in worship face many challenges.  They often have limited financial resources, which makes it difficult to pay the mortgage, electric, and other bills; maintain the facilities; pay the salary and benefits for a pastor or other staff; and still have funds available for ministry and mission.  With few people, the tasks of being a community of faith rest on fewer shoulders.  And some small congregations have a poor self-image when they compare themselves to large churches with more resources. 

Despite these issues, we found that small churches have many strengths.

More worshipers involved in congregational activities.  In small churches more worshipers participate in more ways in congregational life, including in small groups, outreach activities, community service, leadership positions, decision making, and financial support.  Because there are fewer people, everyone gets involved.  In larger churches, it’s easier to sit back and let others take on tasks.

 
Stronger sense of belonging.  In small congregations worshipers have a stronger sense of belonging.  More say that all or most of their friends also are part of the congregation and more place specific value in the practical care they receive from others there.  It’s much easier to get to know one another in smaller churches and to feel you’re really connected.  It’s like the Cheers Bar, where everyone knows your name!

 
More empowering leadership.  In small congregations, more worshipers feel their gifts and skills are being used there and believe leaders are responsive to the views of worshipers.  In part that’s because some small churches have no paid staff—they rely on lay leaders for carrying on the work of the church.

 
In other areas, no difference.  That’s not to say everything is better in small churches.  Congregations of all sizes provide meaningful worship, warmly welcome new people, and chart an exciting vision for the church’s future.  In these areas, church size really doesn’t matter.  Any church—big or small—can do a good job!

 Learn more about the strengths of congregations.