How is today’s economy affecting your church’s budget? As far as your own operating expenses, I imagine that trips on the church bus are fewer this summer, and perhaps you cut out miscellaneous items from your Vacation Bible School.

Your own budget is feeling the crunch, and your members are tightening their belts as well. How is this impacting your bottom line? Are you meeting the giving goals you set for this year?

According to a new study by LifeWay Research, while 72 percent of Southern Baptist pastors indicate that difficulties in the U.S. economy are affecting their churches negatively, an astonishing 76 percent say that their offerings are at or above levels they had expected when drafting budgets several months ago.

“Americans are feeling the pressure of rising prices on food and gasoline, and millions are falling behind on mortgage payments, but members in many congregations are exercising faith by continuing to give,” said Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research. “Giving God your first fruits requires much more faith when inflation is stealing what remains in your fruit basket.”

Even if your members are finding it harder to give in these tough times, the various ways for them to give are getting easier as technology continues to develop. I hope your church is taking advantage of an electronic giving system; if not, and you want to know more, check out our article on this topic in this issue.

Additionally, technology is providing easier ways to handle the administration of your worship facility. Our annual software focus details some of the ways that church management software can streamline your duties and recordkeeping. Using a feature-rich system can positively impact your personnel needs, which can help your bottom line, by automating some of your office responsibilities.

I’m always interested in hearing from you. You can reach me at jill@rpnmag.com.

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro
Managing Editor