Home Pastors Articles for Pastors Churches Lost $1.2 Billion in Donations During the Recession

Churches Lost $1.2 Billion in Donations During the Recession

The Washington Post reported that, according to the 2012 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, church members gave $29 billion to their churches in 2010, which represents a drop of 2.2 percent—a loss of $1.2 billion. This is nearly three times as much as the $431 million loss reported in 2009. The editor of the Yearbook, Rev. Eileen Linder, said the losses “provide clear evidence of the impact of the deepening crises in the reporting period.”

Membership remained relatively stable according to the report with the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention remaining the top two largest denominations in the nation. The report said overall total church membership declined a little over one percent to 145.7 million. Only six out of the top 25 denominations increased in membership, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the National Baptist Convention, and the Assemblies of God.