Updated Friday, May 16, 2008

Economic downturn effects N.C. churches

By Steve DeVane

BR Managing Editor

While North Carolina Baptists feel effects of a slowing economy some areas feel the pinch more than others.

Billy Honeycutt, director of missions in the Green River Baptist Association, said times are tough and his association's finances are the tightest they've been in his 22 years.

"It's having an impact," he said. "We've adjusted the association's budget twice since October to stay within the limits of what we have."

Some local churches are as much as $30,000 behind budget, Honeycutt said.

Honeycutt attributes some of the local downturn to a loss of 6,000 to 7,000 textile jobs since the mid-1990s.

"There's nothing to replace that," he said. "It's catching up with our churches."

Associational leaders are keeping a close eye on how money is spent, Honeycutt said.

"We've still got ministries going and doing things, but it's been tight," he said.

On the other end of the state, in West Chowan Association, Director of Missions John Pond said giving levels in the area still seem strong, but some pastors and other staff are trying to do more things on a single trip because of rising gas prices.

"I've tried to do that myself," he said.

John Butler, the Baptist State Convention's executive leader for business services, said that even though the BSC is currently keeping pace with last year's level of giving, he has looked for patterns in money coming to the BSC. He's seen some decreases among large urban churches but rural churches are tending to stay even.

"If you look at urban areas as a whole, there's a little decrease there," he said.

Sandy Beck, director of missions in Carolina Association, said his part of western North Carolina continues to grow. Building homes for newly arrived retirees from the north and the increased services they attract is keeping the economy steady around Hendersonville.

While not as robust as in recent years, the economy is not tanking. In fact, gifts to the association are slightly ahead of last year, Beck said.

Northern retirees are swelling the rolls of area Catholic and Episcopal churches, Beck said. Some Carolina Association churches are reaching out to that group, especially new churches. First Baptist Church in Fletcher, which Beck said is a "Southern Gospel" style church, reports growth from that influx.

Roger Nix, executive director of the Raleigh Baptist Association, said contributions appear to be down across the board. He thinks the rising gas prices could be having an impact.

"If it takes money out of people's pocket, it takes money out of the offering plate," he said.

Nix said association staff has seen an increased number of people walking into the offices to ask for help with utility bills or gas. He said he read that gas prices could be $4 a gallon by July 4.

"I don't know how people making $10 to $12 an hour are making it," he said.

Mike Walden, an economist at N.C. State University, said in an article on the school's web site that North Carolina typically suffers more than other states during economic downturns. In the current situation, however, the state appears to be doing better than the national average, he said.

All is not well economically in North Carolina, Walden said.

"There are still problems in the housing industry, and more people are losing their homes," he said. "Unemployment is up and companies are tentative about hiring. Families, businesses and government all face tighter budgets. Unfortunately, these conditions go with the territory during a recession.

"The good news however, is that to date, North Carolina appears to be doing better than is the nation - relatively speaking Ñ with these conditions."

Nationwide, Southern Baptist pastors say church members are still giving, in spite of the financial pressures felt by many families.

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

At the same time, 24 percent of the pastors say offerings are below what they had expected and 27 percent indicate their congregations will not meet budgets if current giving trends continue.

"When two-thirds of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or declining in membership and attendance, it is no surprise that 20 to 30 percent of churches find their giving under budget at any given point in time," said Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research.

(EDITOR'S NOTEÑ BR Editor Norman Jameson and Mark Kelly of LifeWay Christian Resources contributed to this report.)