Tough Economy? Go Wander in the Desert

“It’s time to tighten things up.”

“Show me a new budget with only the needs, not the wants.”

“How can we save money on technology this year?”

If I were to poll, I wonder how many of you working in churches have been hearing questions and statements like the ones above? Based on emails I’ve received and countless blog posts I’ve read, the common theme is a reduction in expenses across most church ministries. Yet I’m also hearing and seeing church leaders requiring budget reductions without the required reduction in expectations to match the new, lower budgets.

“It’s the economy, stupid” are now famous words by James Carville, the former campaign manager for the Clinton administration. So much of the American psyche is built upon such phrases as consumer confidence and market fluctuations. We’re conditioned to think along the bull or bear market concepts and act accordingly.

While I’m all for being responsible and conservative as a general rule of thumb, I also can’t stop reading story after story and truth after truth in God’s Word how He is Jehovah-jireh, or “God the provider”.

Possibly my favorite lesson in God’s total provision was in taking care of the entire nation of Israel as they wandered the desert.

According to the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1,500 tons of food each day (which is 3,000,000 lbs!). To bring that much food each day would require two freight trains: each a mile long – which is a lot of donkeys back in that day. So God provided Manna in the morning and Quail to fly in and then simply die in the afternoon, ready to be cooked!

Also keep in mind that they were out in the desert, and sand doesn’t make very good cooking material, so they would have needed firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take about 4,000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And just think – they did this for 40 years (146,000 days).

They would also need water. If they only had enough to drink it would take 11,000,000 gallons of water each day. Add some more freight trains with tank cars spanning a few miles, every day. God had Moses strike a rock with his staff to make water burst forth – in a desert!

One more thing: each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island was required. That’s a total of about 750 square miles, and they somehow all were able to have daily access to food and water.

(paraphrased from Lane Palmer – website link no longer active)

And in all of this, there He was: Jehovah-jireh.

The first lesson is this: We rely on God. Alone. Period.

Our second lesson is this: Plan and look at ways to be wise with the monies God has entrusted your ministry with, but also plan on God showing up and meeting your needs. Set a budget and stick to it as much as you are able within your spending and planning. But don’t take God out of the equation.

The final lesson is this: Don’t worry. Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

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The Economy, Churches and Technology

Research guru George Barna’s firm (I also recommend him as an author – see “Revolution” for a great read) has published part two of a three-part series studying the effects of the economy on local churches. The study focused on 1,114 pastors and church executives and was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009. So far, the results are not only interesting, some are flat-out surprising.

According to the research, “nearly half of church leaders (45%) said they had not (emphasis mine) made any changes to their ministry as a result of the economic problems of the last year.” The remaining 55% have reduced spending, cut staff, reduced missions giving, and/or reduced facilities budgets.

• About 20% of the pastors surveyed have cut budgets, while only 2% to 3% said they “were watching spending, conserving more, shopping for better deals, eliminating non-essentials, freezing portions of the budget and re-evaluating vendors”.
• “About one out of every six churches (18%) indicated that they had to eliminate positions, reduce salaries, rely on more volunteer time, and cut hours from full-time to part-time.”
• “…nearly one in every 25 churches said they had reduced their giving to missions or missionaries.”
• A mere 3% of those surveyed reduced facility budgets.

Doing Less vs.  Doing Differently

The “easy fix” is to simply do less; whether that’s less staff, less programs or less budget – the first response is to make cuts. There’s nothing wrong with tightening the financial belt, but cuts alone won’t provide the church with the leverage to ramp up once the economy turns around.

I thought that David Kinnaman, President of the Barna Group, concluded his thoughts brilliantly as he talked about the challenge of not merely doing less, but doing things differently.

In the past year, most churches have been satisfied to tie down loose financial ends and keep costs under control. That has been no small feat for most organizations, let alone donor-driven congregations. Yet, the surprise is how few churches seem to have clearly and intentionally developed a proactive response to the downturn.

When pastors were asked to identify the changes they had made as a result of the economic downturn only about one out of every eight church leaders (13%) identified what might be described as activities that proactively position the church as a valuable resource to churchgoers and to those in the community.

For instance, many churches understandably have put off purchasing new equipment and technology. Yet less than one-half of one percent of the churches we interviewed said they upgraded their use of technology in order to help cut down on costs or to maximize communication and reach. Some churches were naturally deferring building projects and facility-related expenditures, but virtually none of the leaders we interviewed said they were rethinking whether the future of congregational ministry required or could even sustain their current campus, much less planned facility expansions. And while some churches have offered resources, training and assistance specifically in response to the economic crisis, it is surprising that so few pastors had made strategic shifts to become a significant and vital resource to their congregants and to the broader community. Like so many others, church leaders have been focused on surviving; now is the time, though, to calibrate ministries and strategies to the opportunities brought by the new economy. (David Kinnaman, The Economy’s Impact on Churches (Part 2 of 3): How Churches Have Adapted)

Having worked with churches on the big three areas of consulting (people, process, technology), I’m in complete agreement with David’s assessment. Change is hard. Aligning your people, processes and technologies can make the difference between doing less and doing things differently. It’s harder than only making cuts, but the results are far more effective.

In addition to David’s suggestions, how would you (or has your church already done) help churches think different instead of/in addition to doing less?

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