Saturday, February 14, 1998

Survey finds donations to churches in Abilene up

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

People are more likely today to question how their church donations will be spent than in the past, but still they are giving in increased amounts, church leaders say.

Past generations "just lined up and paid it -- now they're very much willing to question," said the Rev. Kenneth Metzger, who began his ministry in 1959 and now serves as superintendent of the Abilene District of the United Methodist Church.

A survey of 12 churches within the city of Abilene in Metzger's district showed that in 1987, a total of 7,340 members gave $2,541,992 for an average of $346.32 per member per year.

Ten years later, in 1997, the 12 churches had 7,088 members who gave a total of $2,948,309 for an average of $415.95.

Metzger says those numbers are good, but he doubts that people are paying as high a percentage of their income as in the past.

His suspicions are supported by a recent survey of 29 Protestant congregations in the United States conducted by empty tomb inc., a research organization based in Champaign, Ill.

Their findings show that during the Great Depression, American Protestants gave 3.3 percent of their income to the church. In 1995, that number had declined to less than 2.5 percent.

Likewise the percentage dropped even from 1994 to 1995.

"It's not surprising, I don't think," Metzger said.

Churchgoers today are generous in supporting their church if the money is going to something concrete that they can see. For example, people might give money to support a specific project or equipment for the youth when they might not be as generous in giving money blindly, Metzger said.

That's in contrast to bygone days when people gave to their church unconditionally. People today, too, are more inclined to give when they know their money will be spent at home, Metzger said, rather than going beyond the city limits.

In 1987, he noted, 20 percent of the Methodist funds went to benevolences beyond the local church compared to 15 percent in 1997.

"Support was much, much greater in 1987 than in 1997," for mission work beyond the local church, he said. "People are more prone to give to things they perceive to benefit themselves."

Baptists and Churches of Christ, who along with Methodists make up the largest number of congregations in Abilene, also report increased giving in the last decade.

The Abilene Baptist Association is composed of 46 churches in Taylor County. In 1987 the association had 41 churches. In that year 18,773 members gave $10,027,514 for an average of $534.15 annually.

In 1997, the 46 churches had 19,004 members who gave $12,963.673 for an average of $682.15 per year.

Part of the reason for the large increase in giving can be attributed to new churches being built. New churches normally have a stronger per capita giving, said Dr. Truman Turk, director of the Abilene Baptist Association.

Of the original 41 churches in the association in 1987, increased giving was reported at 24 while the other 17 showed minimum decreases, Turk said.

"Most of our churches teach and preach biblical stewardship to one degree or another," Turk said, so the increased giving is not unexpected.

Before becoming director of the Baptist association in 1991, Turk was a pulpit minister for 21 years and has seen trends in giving over the years.

"The generosity level is based on folks being informed about the needs out there," he said, echoing Metzger's observation.

People tend to give to causes that touch them, such as the plight of the homeless or orphaned children," Turk said.

"The generosity is based more on who can touch their heart," he said.

Turk has observed over the years that, just like the biblical story of the widow's mite, those least able to give are the ones who give the largest percentage of their income.

The giving from widows on social security never ceases to amaze Turk.

"They give obviously a greater percentage of their income to the church" than more affluent people, he said.

For that reason, Turk said he is always reluctant to come up with ideas that require funding "because the widow ladies would pay for it" and might not be able to afford it.

Turk also confirmed another finding, based on a Religion News Service survey, which showed that people who are more involved in their church tend to give more.

"People who go regularly make a connection to the church," he said. They may think, "this church is doing a good work, I need to be a part of it."

Turk has noticed, too, since being in Abilene that the community is exceedingly generous.

"Abilene has probably per capita more benevolent organizations that anywhere I've ever seen," he said.

But the increased opportunity for giving to organizations other than the church doesn't seem to hurt church giving, he noted.

"Most people involved in benevolent organizations are church people," he said. "They're going to give to their church first."

The Churches of Christ do not have a central office in Abilene, but in 1996 three Abilene Christian University professors collected data on church giving nationwide in their denomination.

The three men -- Dr. Mel Hailey, Dr. Doug Foster, and Dr. Tom Winter -- sent surveys to randomly selected churches, including 66 in Texas.

On average nationally, adult members of the churches of Christ gave about $16.46 per week or $855.92 annually, the surveys showed. The results also showed that among churches of 500 or more members, the average giving rate was $19 per week per adult or $988 a year.

That figure is uncannily close to the giving at Highland Church of Christ, one of Abilene's largest with a Sunday attendance of about 2,000.

At Highland, the average giving for the 1996-97 fiscal year was $987, said Mike Cope, minister.

"The church has been real generous," he said.

Giving has been especially good the past three years when a new Hispanic ministry was added and more missionaries were being supported by the local church.

During that time, "we have seen a pretty dramatic turnaround in our financial condition and our giving," Cope said.

The fact that giving has increased among local churches over a 10-year period, perhaps in contrast to other areas of the country, surprised no one.

"We're still pretty well in the Bible Belt," noted Metzger, the Methodist district superintendent.