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May 15, 2008

An important church giving statistic

I read this on Generous Giving this morning.

Then and Now: Giving by North American churchgoers was higher during the Great Depression (3.3 percent of per capita income in 1933) than it was after a half-century of unprecedented prosperity (2.5 percent in 2004).

Maybe the connection between the strength (or weakness) of the economy and rise (or fall) church giving is different from what we might think. It seems that there is an inverse relationship rather than a direct one.

This statistic tells me that when we can't depend upon our own abilities, God seems to be a reasonable alternative. When we can seemingly generate the lifestyle we want, God seems to be a passing thought.

Instead of fearing the worst in the midst of a struggling economy, we (church leaders) would do better to focus our attention on maintaining a conviction in the Lordship of Christ in the midst of despair and prosperity and providing people a practical plan to deal with money and debt that ultimately provides for sustainable Kingdom advancement.

Posted by bstroup at May 15, 2008 9:18 AM

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