According to recent data, most churches believe they’re in good financial health, and they have the budget numbers to prove it.
By Aaron Earls
Most churches believe they’re in a good place financially, and they have the budget numbers to prove it.
According to a report from Faith Communities Today, 62% of U.S. congregations operate at a surplus. The 3 in 5 that have more money coming in than they are spending include 44% that say their income exceeds their expenditures by more than 5%. Another 18% say they have more income but it is within 5% of their expenses.
62% of U.S. congregations are operating at a budget surplus, according to a report from Faith Communities Today. Share on XFor 14%, their budget is exactly balanced, with the same amount coming in as going out. Almost a quarter (24%) are operating in a deficit, including 17% that are spending more than 5% more than they’re receiving.
Around 2 in 5 congregations may not be in serious financial trouble but have little margin for error—including those that have a balanced budget and those with plus or minus 5% on either side.
Still, around 3 in 5 U.S. congregations say their current financial health is either good (35%) or excellent (26%). Another 28% say they are tight but able to manage. Only around 1 in 10 say they have some difficulty (8%) or serious difficulty (3%).
Moving toward financial health
Those percentages are better than the self-assessment scores congregations gave themselves in 2020. At that time, half said they were in either good (33%) or excellent (17%) financial health. Around 3 in 10 (31%) said they were tight but managing. A full 1 in 5 said they were either in some difficulty (14%) or serious difficulty (6%).
Specifically, the portion that says they are in difficulty has fallen to the lowest level in over two decades. In 2000, 8% were in difficulty. The percentage grew to reach 20% in 2020 before falling back down to 11% in the most recent study.
When comparing their situation to five years earlier, half of churches say they are in a similar financial circumstance (51%). The other half of churches say they’re in a different state, with 22% saying they’re better now and 27% saying they’re worse now.
Around 3 in 5 U.S. congregations say their current financial health is either good (35%) or excellent (26%), according to a report from Faith Communities Today. Share on XFactors for financial health
The study found no relationship between rural or urban location, the size of the congregation, or a large portion of senior adults in the congregation and self-reporting being in a better financial situation now compared to five years ago.
Denominational family did, however, have an impact. Mainline Protestant churches (34%) were more likely than Catholic/Orthodox (18%) or evangelical Protestant (25%) to report they were worse off now.
A worsening financial outlook contributes to an optimistic outlook on the congregation as a whole. “More than 40% of congregations who have slipped in their financial position have a low level of optimism, while nearly half of congregations that have improved their financial health in the past five years have an optimistic outlook,” according to the report.
Still, even among those that are doing worse than five years ago, not all of them are currently struggling financially. One in 5 are still in “good” shape, having declined from “excellent.” Around half (51%) say they are tight, but they manage. Almost 3 in 10 say they are in a hard position, including 21% in some difficulty and 8% in serious difficulty.
Current economy and financial health
A 2024 Lifeway Research study found 66% of U.S. Protestant pastors believe the current economy is hurting their congregations. The 2 in 3 who report a negative impact is the highest since 2011, and the 14% who say the impact has been very negative is the highest in the 15-year history of the study.
Yet, even with that perspective, most churches saw giving at least match the budget and at least stay the same compared to the previous year. Half of pastors (50%) report giving in 2024 was about what was budgeted, with another 16% who say giving was higher than budgeted. Around 3 in 10 (29%) say it’s lower. Compared to the previous year, 38% say giving was the same, 29% say it was higher, and 24% report giving dropped.
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