Financial predictions for giving to churches and Christian ministries looked bleak in mid-March when the American economy seemed to come to a screeching halt. Fast forward to the present, and surprise! Christian giving is alive and healthy.
In July, a survey was released by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. It included over 1,300 Christian ministries. Giving among that group for April 2020 had stayed the same as April 2019 or had increased.
In March, the Barna Group reported that 62 percent of pastors in America said giving was down. The State of The Plate, in April, stated that difficult days were ahead. But today, giving is holding steady or above last year’s totals during the same time period.
Our own Courier poll conducted recently showed that 56 percent of responding churches stated their giving was the same or higher during the pandemic than before it started. Another 9 percent stated their offerings were about 90 percent of pre-COVID giving levels. Eight percent did not supply information about their offerings. While the poll was small (less than 30 churches), it is broad enough to at least indicate a healthy stewardship pattern among many South Carolina Baptist churches.
Cooperative Program giving declined in May and June nationwide, but rebounded in July with about $2.3 million more than July 2019. Still, financial gifts received by the Southern Baptist Convention are about $2 million behind last year’s totals at this point.
Giving by Baptists is good during this pandemic. It could be better, but it could have been better before the pandemic struck. Overall, Southern Baptists are giving strongly to their local churches — especially during a time when sharp decreases had been predicted. However, the national convention and many state conventions are seeing reduced giving from the churches.
Several state conventions have announced budget reductions for the 2021 year. The South Carolina Baptist Convention is looking at a decreased budget for the coming year. Cooperative Program gifts begin with the local church, when a certain percentage of the budget (or a specific dollar amount) is allocated for CP. In South Carolina, the state convention keeps approximately 59 percent of CP money for its ministries and distributions to its ministry partners. The remainder is forwarded to the national convention. So, if giving by local churches is reduced, the work of the state and national convention is affected. Likewise, if CP giving is increased, state and national ministries are strengthened.
Jesus is quoted in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” If we believe the Bible is “truth without any mixture of error” as our Baptist Faith and Message states, then we are to give part (say 10 percent or more) to God’s work (the local church). When the church receives more, it is in a position to give more to a method of giving (CP) that can multiply the effectiveness of our stewardship.
An encouraging and challenging word about stewardship from Jesus in Luke 6:38 is both powerful and truthful: “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
I have practiced giving at least 10 percent of my income since I received my first paycheck. Even in a pandemic, we can give — and give cheerfully and sacrificially. If you are not a tither, now is a great time to start! Faithful stewardship begins with the commitment to tithe. We all can benefit from Malachi 3:10, where the Lord said, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.’”
So many of our Southern Baptist churches have responded with faithful giving during a pandemic. It would be easy, but wrong, to step back. God bless our churches as they continue to give to His work and for His glory. May their numbers increase. As someone very important to the SCBC used to say to people, “Maybe you have come into the kingdom for such a time as this.”