After enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, a larger share of churches in the United States is more financially prepared for hard times than in 2016, according to a new study from Lifeway Research.
According to the survey, the number of pastors who said their churches have cash reserves for 16 to 51 weeks increased from 27% in 2016 to 32% last year.
Nearly a quarter of pastors said their churches have 52 weeks or more of cash reserves.
Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a statement that whenever “hardships impact an organization, financial leaders carefully watch how much cash is on hand and how quickly they are spending it.”
“Very rarely does cash stop coming in completely, though some churches experienced that for a few weeks in 2020.”
“But hardships such as a financial recession can impact church receipts and force the use of cash reserves to get by. While improved, there are still too many churches with too little money in the bank given the uncertainties of 2023.”
The survey also found that nearly a third (31%) of pastors did not know their church’s cash reserves.
Last October, Lifeway released a report which found that a little over half of Protestant pastors believed that the economy had negatively impacted their church, with only 7% saying that the economy helped them.