In the October 2011 edition of Christianity Today, Ken Walker wrote about (p.17) a church that now holds a mortgage that is three times greater than the current property value. The congregation stopped paying its monthly mortgage payments in May. So What? If the story stopped there, then it would not be all that newsworthy apart from serving to illustrate the larger trend of churches on a path leading to foreclosure. However, The Church at South Las Vegas stopped paying Read More …
foreclosure
Giving Less (#0366)
The Barna Group's latest research suggests that the current economic crisis continues to impact how much Christians contribute to their local congregations. In short: In the immediate aftermath of the economic crisis in late 2008, two out of 10 Americans (20%) had reduced their giving to a church or religious center; three out of 10 (31%) had downsized their giving to other nonprofits. Then, 14 months later, in January of 2010, both measures had increased: three in 10 adults had reduced Read More …
Dramatic Increase in Church Foreclosures (#0266)
Local churches often finance the purchase of a new "house of worship" (or expansion of an existing one) with a mortgage much like their parishioners do when purchasing their own homes. Historically churches have had low default rates, but more recently high unemployment and easy access to funding have contributed to increases in distressed (see image at right) properties. Foreclosures have also risen dramatically. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article Read More …