January 24, 2024
There is still time to complete Christian Standard's Annual Survey of Churches. This survey of 2023 data is designed for every Restoration Movement church (Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ)—from the largest to smallest—and takes only a few minutes to complete . . .
November 1, 2022
By Kent E. Fillinger Giving USA 2022: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for 2021 reported charitable giving rose for its fourth consecutive year, reaching its highest level in history, $484.8 billion. Total giving increased 4 percent in current dollars but decreased 0.7 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. About two-thirds (67 percent) of total giving came from individuals, the fourth straight year individual giving totaled less than 70 percent. The wealthiest 1.4 percent of the country accounted for 86 percent of charitable donations, according to the Philanthropy Roundtable. Giving is highest among those in their 60s and 70s. Charitable giving since World
October 17, 2022
Kent Fillinger shares four action steps your church’s leaders can take to help prompt people to take the next step in their generosity journey.
July 1, 2022
By Jim Estep I hate going to the doctor. The first thing they ask me to do is step on the scale. Then, they take all the standard measurements: blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and oxygen level, among others. Finally, they ask, “So why are you here? How are you feeling?” I describe my ailment (while trying not to sound like a whiner). Doctors evaluate a person’s health based on some very objective (quantitative) measures as well as verbal (qualitative) descriptions. A church’s health should be evaluated the same way. We need to remember the church is an organism, not an
July 20, 2021
From a financial standpoint, most churches performed amazingly well during the course of COVID-19. Now, with unprecedented levels of cash on hand, church leaders must strategize how best to steward these resources.
May 1, 2021
The year 2020 was, well . . . different! And, because of that, we knew it was super important to capture the stories and statistics from 2020 to gauge the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our churches and establish baselines to measure future growth and changes.
November 22, 2020
—This content is sponsored by The Solomon Foundation— As the pandemic unfolded in March, I quickly became concerned . . . about catching the virus, about our economy, and about churches. On March 9, during my last airline flight (from Detroit to Denver) before most everything shut down, it became obvious to me I was not the only one concerned. Before that week ended, our country was in total lockdown. I could feel the tension rising within me, and I could sense the tension in others. As with many others, my wife and I spent a great deal of time
August 15, 2020
By Kent E. Fillinger The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated our time and attention for much of 2020. This month’s article provides an overview of church finances based on our 2019 survey of 439 churches, while next month’s article will share findings from a separate survey that seeks to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the financial health of our churches. How Much Money Was Given to Churches Last Year? The total amount given last year to the churches we surveyed was $872,134,383. This included giving to the general fund, capital campaigns, building funds, and other sources. This reflected less than
July 22, 2020
(This article is excerpted from a longer feature article written for our October print magazine. We post some of the more time-critical information now for the benefit of our churches. The longer version—available at the end of September—provides a more comprehensive report.) By Kent E. Fillinger During the week of June 7, I conducted a COVID-19 Church Impact Survey to take a “snapshot” of how churches fared during the initial three months of quarantine (March to May) and what they anticipated would be happening over the next three months (June to August) as many have started regathering for in-person worship
April 22, 2020
We spoke with ministers of churches large and small in several states about how their church finances have been impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting stay-at-home orders. The sampling size is small—five ministers—but most report improved giving after a rough first couple of weeks. _ _ _ By Chris Moon When asked about church finances during the COVID-19 pandemic, pastor Vince Antonucci had a quick answer. “It’s scary,” he said. The lead pastor of Verve Church in Las Vegas—which averaged 285 people in attendance before the shutdown—is in a city that’s been particularly hard hit because of the outbreak. The
August 22, 2019
Why do many small and rural churches struggle to find and retain leaders and even to survive? More importantly, what are some solutions? Christian Standard asked Jerran Jackson to lead and manage a project to study these issues. He teamed with four other seasoned leaders who have expertise in the small church to develop this topic. _ _ _ By Jerran Jackson and Barney Wells Many rural and small-town churches are struggling. LifeWay Research found that 60 percent of Protestant churches are plateaued or declining in attendance. And 46 percent say their giving decreased or stayed the same from 2017
September 19, 2018
By Kent E. Fillinger Nonmetropolitan or “rural” counties make up 72 percent of the land area in the United States and are home to 14 percent of the nation’s population. The landscape of small towns and rural America is changing in distinct ways. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, Brookings Institution researcher William H. Frey reported, “Not only has the nonmetropolitan population remained much whiter than the rest of the nation, it is also getting older faster and shrinking in size” (www.brookings.edu). Almost three-fourths of these rural counties are at least 70 percent white, according to Census Bureau data. The age
January 14, 2018
By Haydn Shaw People now live 30 years longer than they once did. In 1900 the average life span was 48; today it’s 78. But as people live longer—for which we’re all grateful—it presents new challenges that previous eras didn’t face. In previous eras, there were only three generations. The oldest generation had the money and made the decisions, and the younger generation of adults raised the children and did what the older generation asked them to until their parents died, and then their turn came to be in control. Changes in families and churches came slowly and naturally, with
December 26, 2017
By Michael C. Mack A 2015 research study revealed that small group participants gave an average of $1,886 more per year to their churches than those not in groups. As a small groups guy, that statistic makes me smile. You”re probably not shocked by this finding. It makes sense that the more connected and involved people are in the life of the church, the more buy in they will have to the church”s vision and the more they will tend to give. But I think there”s more to it. LD Campbell, who was senior minister of First Church, Burlington, Kentucky,
August 11, 2017
By Kent Fillinger From Abingdon, Virginia, to Woodland Park, Colorado, medium-size churches are a vital part of our annual church survey. Over the last three years, 160 different medium-size churches (average weekly attendance of 250 to 499) from 37 states have participated in our research study. On average, 93 medium churches have responded each of the last three years. Most recently, 88 medium churches completed the survey. I hope to see the number of medium churches that participate grow in the future! Here”s a quick statistical overview of the 88 medium-size churches based on 2016 data. The list of these
By Daniel Schantz I have enjoyed a lifelong romance with envelopes. When I was just a boy, my preacher-father supplied me with several boxes of leftover offering envelopes to play with. I have been in love with envelopes ever since. About the size of an index card, these little envelopes gave me much pleasure. We lived in Springfield, Ohio, at the time, the city where I was born. My cousins lived there, too, and on Saturdays we held a secret club meeting in a dusty corncrib, organized by my oldest cousin, Carol. She appointed herself president of the club, but the purpose of the
May 26, 2012
By Kent E. Fillinger Total giving to U.S. nonprofits rose 7.5 percent in 2011, an increase of $24.2 billion over the 2010 total. Although religious institutions represent the largest sector of this giving, those gifts decreased from 37 percent of the total in 2010 to 36 percent in 2011.1 Therefore, while charitable giving increased overall, religious nonprofits, including churches, received a smaller piece of the pie. A Barna Group and Omni Poll from April 2011 found that “69 percent of American adults said they had reduced their giving to churches/religious centers and other nonprofits within the preceding three months and
September 13, 2009
by Kent E. Fillinger Describing the 66 medium-sized churches analyzed in this issue reminds me of the old fable of the blind men who each touched a different part of an elephant and then tried to describe what the animal looked like. The men disagree based on the part of the elephant they touched and their personal perspective. For the last four years, 3:STRANDS Consulting has partnered with Christian Standard to conduct in-depth research of Christian church/church of Christ megachurches and emerging megachurches. For the first time, the same research survey was completed by churches with average worship attendances of
April 19, 2009
  By Kent E. Fillinger Rising unemployment rates. Crashing stock markets. Falling consumer confidence. Decreased spending. Skyrocketing personal and national debt. Freezing credit lines. Collapsing banks and bankrupt companies. Mounting numbers of home foreclosures. A deepening recession. People fearing a depression. These are the dominant headlines of our day. What is the impact on the church? Prognosticators and pundits are attempting to predict when this economic downturn will either reach the bottom or start to turn around. Until resurgence occurs, how can churches sustain ministry in a shrinking economy?  Put the economy and giving into perspective. The recession
May 27, 2007
By Michael Sweeney There are times I think being on a missions committee is even tougher than being a missionary. Just how do you decide where to put the church”s money when you are so inundated with requests? Some people think of a missionary”s handshake as one with the palm up, waiting for a donation. And it”s true. We missionaries seem to ask for money a lot; there never seems to be enough to meet all the needs we see. So I apologize in advance for trying to make your job even harder. Because of the constant demand on the
April 7, 2026
John B. Penrose Jr
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David Faust
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Rick Cherok