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New report: most churches suffered financial anxiety

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A new survey reveals that some pastors worry their church may not survive the COVID-19 pandemic because of financial pressures, Christian Today reports. Titled “Something other than a Building,” and compiled by Churches in Ireland and Queen’s University, Belfast, the survey shows finances have been a source of anxiety for most of the pastors who participated.

According to the report, most pastors interviewed said they undertook greater financial responsibility for their church at the onset of the pandemic because they did not feel comfortable asking their congregants to do so at such a difficult time, Christian Today said.

“With church buildings shut, traditional methods for collecting offerings like passing the collection plate were off-limits,” the survey authors noted. One pastor told the authors the pandemic had “been a nightmare” financially, and that his church may have to close.

Another pastor told the authors he was worried his congregation may have to give up their meeting place: “We don’t know if we will still be able to maintain our place of worship because of the flow of cash that we will receive,” the pastor said. “Because this thing has also affected some people that they lost their job. And the care of the family comes first. We are struggling, and that has grave consequences.”

The survey found that, overall, larger urban churches were financially stronger and better equipped to direct congregants toward online giving rather than relying on in-person donations, Christian Today said. The survey authors specifically noted that a Presbyterian congregation in an affluent part of Northern Ireland was managing well because congregants had been used to give by standing order before the pandemic even began.