Congregations ’ annual operating budget
Percent of Congregations
33 % 25 % 20 % 22 %
$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$ $$
$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$ $$
$ 49,999 or less $ 50,000 to $ 99,999 $ 100,000 to $ 199,999 $ 200,000 or more
Congregations with part-time employees
0 ( None )
1 2 to 4 5 to 9
10 or more
Number of Employees
6
17
16
Congregations with full-time employees
48
Direct Spending ( 25 % of the total ) Congregations stimulate their local economies by purchasing local goods and services and employing local residents . On average , congregations contributed over $ 186,000 to their communities via annual spending . Congregational budgets include spending on personnel , building repairs and routine maintenance , direct community giving , miscellaneous expenses related to church operations , and supplies needed to run programs such as daycares .
Congregational spending is closely related to the payment of employee salaries . On average , each church had between 1 and 2 full-time employees and 4 part-time employees . Churches had 5 total employees on average , with a median of 3 employees . Employees include clergy , administrators , teachers , sextons / maintenance personnel , music directors , and program staff .
Rural congregations provide employment opportunities to the community . The average unemployment rate for the 53 counties in which the churches in our sample were located was 7.6 % in 2020 , compared to a rate of 7.1 % among North Carolina ’ s urban counties . 17
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0 ( None ) 1
2 to 4
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10 3 3 |
23 |
48 |
Churches that had a staff of 10 or more full or part-time employees had an average of $ 819,381 in direct spending . Churches with 5 to 9 employees spent an average of $ 276,845 , while churches with 2 to 4 employees had an average spending of $ 80,756 . |
5 to 9 10 or more |
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Fifty-five percent of the congregations in this study are served by a parttime pastor . Churches without full time clergy had the lowest spending on average , at $ 58,286 . |
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17 Bureau of Labor Statistics ( 2020 ). Local Area Unemployment Statistics . Retrieved from https :// d4 . nccommerce . com /? q = 1SMC |
20 |
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