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tagged: Baptist Life, budget cuts, budgets, financial issues, Geoff Baggett, Lifeway, Money, NAMB, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, SWBTS, WMUThings are Tough All Over
Posted by Geoff Baggett in Baptist Life, Church & Missions
The financial landscape in Southern Baptist life is somewhat bleak these days. Consider these facts from a recent article at Baptist Press:
- Southern Seminary has announced reductions in its administrative staff by 35 positions, increased tuition by 10%, reduced travel, and halted new capital projects in expectation of a $3.2 million shortfall in its current $30 million budget.
- Geoff Hammond, president of The North American Mission Board, has instructed NAMB team leaders to operate at 90% of their planned budgets in 2009.
- Southwestern Seminary is cutting its budget by 10%, approximately $3.5 million to $4 million, in the coming year, primarily by temporary suspension of overseas travel programs and adjustments to facilities.
- The Woman’s Missionary Union has enacted measures to reduce its 2009 budget by $1.4 million. Such measures include cutting travel and project expenses, requiring all staff to take four weeks of unpaid furlough, reducing employer contributions to retirement, freezing merit increases, eliminating incentive bonuses, and implementing a hiring freeze.
- LifeWay Christian Resources has reduced its workforce by 5% and sought to cut expenses throughout the organization.
Clearly, the tough economic times have taken a toll on our denominational schools and corporations.
Most of the measures seem, at least on the surface, to be reasonable attempts to deal with the financial realities of our day. Although … the 10% increase in tuition at Southern would be a hard pill to swallow. With regard to Southwestern’s cuts … they must do a heckuva lot of overseas traveling. And as far as the WMU goes … the four weeks of “unpaid furlough” is what we call a layoff where I come from … and what must one do at the WMU to earn “incentive bonuses?” That phrase, within the context of a Christian ministry, almost borders upon the absurd, from my viewpoint.
But when income is reduced, expenses must be reduced (unless, of course, you’re the federal government … then you spend more). And it is clear that these entities are doing their best to reduce expenses.
What about things in your “neck of the woods?” How are expenses doing in the local churches? Are you meeting budget, exceeding budget, or running behind? Can you relate to the “pain” of our agencies and schools?
I’ll end this post with a word of praise. Our little church, Crossroads Fellowship in Cadiz, Kentucky, just finished 2008 “in the black.” We exceeded our budget by almost 8% (the first time we’ve met budget in our short history). And another most excellent word of praise … we had us a note burning in December. We paid off the balance of our loan on our future campus property – a beautiful 39 acres just outside of Cadiz.
God still has all the money. It’s just in the peoples’ pockets.
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Geoff: Congratulations on your church’s fianacial health. My little church is also doing well. We are not at budget but we are closer than we usually are. So put me down for almost meeting budget.
God is not broke! Sadly most Christians give very little of what the Lord has blessed them with to his work. These are very difficult economic times but as you so correctly stated the money is still in too many Christians pockets. It is time for many to repent of spending the money God has blessed them with on things other than his Kingdom’s work and the repenting needs to start now.
Brother Geoff,
We “raise our own support” and actually ran a little in the black for 2008. However, our financial needs have increased significantly for 2009 and we are trusting God to provide during this recession. Our funding is both from congregations and from individuals. While the individual giving was about what we expected towards the end of 2008, there were a couple of churches who chose not to fund us from their budgets due to this economic crunch but have pledged support in other ways.
Peace to you brother,
From the Middle East
To me it is really tragic when individual churches have to cut back on staff by “laying them off”.
Hopefully churches are able to provide some transition assistance when they terminate people but this is not always the case.
In some cases pastors are let go with very generous severance packages; in other cases we see people just told that their job is terminated — effective immediately.
Geoff, our congregation here in Oklahoma learned one lesson the hard way. That is to AVOID HUGE BUILDING DEBT. Before I moved here to OKC the church built a large building and struggled with debt for decades. In the last several years we built a new multi-purpose / gym / fellowship hall / kitchen and that building was “pay as you go” with NO DEBT. I think avoiding taking on any new debt is going to be prudent in these uncertain times.
Ours is an “Elder Lead” Baptist Church and all our staff are intentionally Bi-vocation, including the Senior Pastor, (this is a part of our ministry strategy) so an economic downturn is highly unlikely to affect our ministry in the same way as those who have a full time staff.
Almost eight years ago we started setting aside 10% of our offerings for the future capital outlay needs of our church. We were able to increase this to 25% percent this past year and still meet all our immediate needs, and I am pleased to announce that we have actually saw an increase in our offerings over the last few months instead of a decline as may have been expected.
It is my experience that mature believers (regardless of age) are faithful even in difficult economic times… Immature believers on the other hand are a different matter.
Grace Always,
Grace Baptist of ponce de leon has no budget. Our Pastor works a full time job. we support 6 missionaries 700.00 a month. have never failed to meet obligations. Last year we put concrete down for parking at cost of 25,000.00 raised money in 2 weeks.