FACT Sheet Stewardship in Seventh-day Adventist Congregations Today The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America is one of 41 faiths participating in the largest single study of local, religious groups ever conducted. Data collection was timed to coincide with the U.S. Census during the year 2000 and the results are now being released in a series of reports under the general title Faith Communities Today (FACT). The reports on the Adventist Church are prepared by the Center for Creative Ministry in coordination with the interfaith reports published by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Stewardship is an important value and regular practice in Adventist local churches, starting with the denomination s historic practice of tithing which is taught as a basic expectation to all new members and widely required of church officers. Today there is a Stewardship Department of the denomination that teaches a wholistic concept of stewardship of time, talent and the environment, as well as money. The data reported here provide a picture of stewardship and finances in the Adventist Church in the United States at the beginning of the 21 st century. All percentages displayed in this fact sheet are the percentages of local churches reporting a specific response. These data are based on a 12-page questionnaire completed by the pastor or an elder in a random sample of 412 local churches. This is one of a series of fact sheets providing a data from the sample of Seventh-day Adventist Church congregations in the Faith Communities Today (FACT) research project. Monte Sahlin is the general editor of the series with Carmen Rusu, research assistant. Paul Richardson is publisher for the series with Alane Russell, web assistant. Roger Dudley, director of the Institute of Church Ministry at Andrews University, is the research director for the Adventist segment of FACT. The interfaith FACT project is coordinated by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research through the Cooperative Congregational Studies Project. Funding was provided by the Lilly Endowment and the Office of Information, Research and Strategic Planning of the Seventh-day Adventist Church North American Division. This fact sheet is published by the Center for Creative Ministry for the Office of Information, Research and Strategic Planning at the North American headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For more information, dial (800) 272-4664. (c)2001, Center for Creative Ministry and North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Attendance 45% Three out of four Adventist churches 35% have an attendance of 150 on a 25% typical Sabbath. Only 20% one in seventeen has 350 people 10% in attendance on a 5% 0% typical Sabbath. Under 50 51 to 150 151 to 350 Over 350 Financial Health of the Congregation Nearly two-thirds of local churches say their financial health is excellent or good. Another third describe their finances as tight, but manageable, and only one in 14 churches reports financial difficulties. Tight, but manage able In difficulty 7% Good Excellent 23% 2
Finances compared to Five Years Ago A net total of about one in ten local churches has shifted from the tight or difficult side of the financial picture to excellent or good over the past five years. 45% 35% 25% 20% 10% 5% 0% Excellent Good Tight In difficulty Today Five years ago Methods Used to Encourage Financial Giving The most popular method Direct appeals of encouraging financial Sermons on stewardship giving among members is Offering appeals based on specific, envelopes Promotional concrete and special needs. material Almost as many churches Appeals from members report using sermons on Fund raising events stewardship or appeals by Pledge cards the pastor and offering Canvassing envelopes with suggested members giving guidelines. 0% 20% 60% 80% 100% 3
Conflict about Finances Two in five local churches have had disagreements or conflict over money or budget in the last five years. Only 4% of congregations report that this was a serious conflict. Moderate Not serious 23% Very serious 4% None 58% Worship Space There are a lot of empty pews on Sabbath mornings. Two out of five local churches have more worship space than they currently use. Only a quarter have less worship space than they need. less than Much less than 8% Much more Just about 35% than 27% 4
Classroom Space The majority of local they have less class room space than they need for seminars, small groups and Sabbath School. This is an area of need in most church buildings. Much less than 22% Much more than 8% 8% Just about Fellowship Space About half of local they do not have enough space for fellowship activities. This is a major area of needs in most church buildings. Much 23% 26% More than 13% Just about 38% 5
Parking Space Two out of five local their parking space is about. Almost an equal number say they have less parking than. One in five churches have more parking than is currently. 20% Much 19% Much 8% 13% Just about Physical Plant Conditions Church buildings are generally in good shape. Seven in ten the overall condition of their physical plant is excellent or good. About a third need improvement. Needs improvement Good 46% Excellent 24% 6
Do Other Churches Rent Worship Space? Less than a third of local churches rent or loan their building to another congregation for regular worship. No 70% Yes 29% Members from Low-income Households Two out of five local churches have few if any members from households with annual incomes below $20,000. Only one in six congregations are largely made up of low-income members. Some 22% Many 11% Most or all 6% Few if any 61% 7