From the Desk of Our Executive Director

“The good news is the economy is not negatively impacting more churches than last year, despite persistent inflation and slower economic growth,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The bad news is that most churches continue to feel pain and discomfort from current economic realities.” That is a quote from a recent Lifeway Research report on the impact of the economy on churches. In this edition of the Stewardship Journal, we focus on this issue and how you can avoid feeling the pain and discomfort from our current economic realities.

We start with Mark Brooks’, The Stewardship Coach, column entitled A Three-Legged Approach to Economically Negative Times. Mark gives three practical ways you can navigate through this challenging time and ensure a better financial future for your church.

Continuing the theme of preparing for future economically challenging times, our Bonus Section, entitled Seniors to the Rescue, shares key statistics about how seniors 65 and up can and will make a difference in your giving. What percentage of your weekly worship is made up of attendees 65 and up? This post will show you how to utilize this key group to avoid any future economic downturn.

Our final post is a reprint of a post by Aaron Earls of Lifeway Research, entitled 5 Current Challenges Facing U.S. Churches, based on The Hartford Institute for Religion Research report called “Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations.” Earls summed up the report by saying, “There are encouraging signs both for churches in the United States and Christianity around the globe. But there are also concerning trends, and leaders should be prepared to face these challenges in their churches.” Are you prepared to meet these five challenges?

I want to take this opportunity to remind our readers that starting January 8^th, 2024, we will be taking the Stewardship Journal nationally to other SBC state conventions. This will expand our reach and our ability to give you quality articles on stewardship-related issues. We are committed to helping you be prepared for the future with quality stewardship tools. Our goal is, and will continue to be, to provide you with the best materials, allowing you to create a culture of generosity based upon biblical principles. Stay tuned; the best is yet to come!

Advancing the Gospel!