CASE STUDY
In addition to annual operating budgets , congregations also budget for special capital and building projects :
• Fifty-eight percent of congregations reported spending on buildings , ministries , or auxiliary groups .
• Spending in this category averaged $ 19,786 .
• Median spending was $ 1,700 , due to the dominance of a few large congregations and the significant percentage that spent zero .
• Eighty percent of churches held a capital campaign in the past five years .
• The average raised for building campaigns was $ 130,883 .
• The median value for capital campaigns was $ 15,000 , again because average spending was skewed by a few large congregations .
Education & Childcare ( 22 % of the total ) Congregations that host schools and childcare centers provide a valuable resource to their communities - a local , affordable place for children to learn . No congregations in our study had private or parochial schools , although a number had childcare programs . Childcare centers represent both a place for children to learn , and a necessary resource for working parents , enabling them to hold a job . Childcare in rural areas are particularly valuable . Sixty percent of rural communities in the United States are considered childcare deserts , where children lack access to licensed childcare . About 1 in 3 children in rural North Carolina live in a childcare desert , compared to less than 1 in 10 urban children . 18
Education & childcare had the second largest economic value :
• The average annual Halo contribution of a congregation in our sample for education and childcare was $ 165,208 .
• The average annual value among the 13 congregations that had a childcare program was $ 966,000 , serving an average of 51 children .
• The minimum value of this service was $ 0 since not every church had a childcare program , while the maximum value of such a program was $ 2,201,852 .
Small Congregations , Outsized Impact
Franklinton United Methodist Church
Many rural United Methodist churches are small but still manage to do a great deal of community-serving programming and have an outsized economic impact . They are proof that a congregation ’ s value cannot always be measured by the size of its membership or its annual operating budget . Franklinton United Methodist Church is an outstanding example of this .
Franklinton United Methodist Church is located in Franklinton North Carolina , a small town with a population of just over 2,000 people and six churches . It is much smaller than it once was – with an active membership of 25 and an average Sunday attendance of 40 , and its pastor divides her part-time position between two rural congregations . Despite this , Franklinton United Methodist Church has an annual economic impact of $ 1,176,145 . This total reflects :
• Spending locally via its annual operating budget
• Investing in the care of its historic building
• Operating an early childhood education program that serves over 40 families
• Contributing volunteer time to community-based efforts and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity
• Running a meal program , a youth group , a Vacation Bible School , and several other community-serving programs
• Providing space to groups , such as Girl Scouts , free of cost
• Attracting folks to the community for events of all kinds , including rites of passage such as weddings and funerals
18 Malik , R , Hamm , K , Adamu , M Morrissey , T . ( 2016 ). Child care Deserts : An Analysis of Child Care Centers by ZIP Code in 8 States . Center for American Progress . https :// www . americanprogress . org / issues / early-childhood / reports / 2016 / 10 / 27 / 225703 / child-care-deserts /
• Although Franklinton United Methodist Church is exceptional , it is not unique .
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