Church bookstores have come under scrutiny as leaders re-evaluate programs in the light of declining income because of the economic downturn.

Giving dipped an average 7% last year, according to a Barna Group study that found congregations dealing with the impact in three main ways:

Reducing spending: Roughly one out of every five churches (21%) cut spending. In addition to budget reductions, pastors indicated that they were watching spending, conserving more, shopping for better deals, eliminating non-essentials, freezing portions of the budget, re-evaluating vendors.

Cutting staffing and missions: One out of every six churches (18%) indicated that they had eliminated positions, reduced salaries, relied on more volunteer time and cut hours from full-time to part-time.

Reducing facility budgets: One of the least commonly reported adaptations was related to church buildings and facilities (3%). These types of alterations included scaling back a building plan, eliminating a planned project altogether, delaying construction, making better use of existing facilities, delaying upgrades of equipment, and deferring maintenance and repairs.

The study discovered that the types of churches most likely to reduce spending included boomer-led congregations and large churches (with more than 250 adults and budgets in excess of $500,000).

Congregations associated with traditionally charismatic denominations were less likely than average to cut spending, but were more likely to have resorted to eliminating staff positions.

Source: The Barna Group

-To read the full report, go to http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/18-congregations/334-the-economys-impact-on-churches-part-2-of-3-how-churches-have-adapted.

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