By the numbers: 93
17 May 2007 by Naomi
Department of Irony-Challenged
Lambert, Edwards and Associates issued a prospectus on Church-Construction Financing Futures (2005-2010) on April 1, 2006 (I’d love to think it’s an AprilFoolsJoke but I don’t think it is…):
We believe the annual financing opportunity for the church construction market currently stands at $28 billion annually. We anticipate this market will grow at a rate in excess of 40% over the next five years to $40 billion by 2010, according to our proprietary church finance market (CFM)™ model.
Our forecast is driven by three primary factors: Exponential growth in church attendance within specific segments of the non-denominational and evangelical church population; the trend toward non-traditionalist, unconventional forums of worship, highlighted by the rise of the modern “mega-church” and; the marked growth in financial contributions to churches, specifically within certain non-denominational sects characterized by a younger, upwardly-mobile demographic commonly found in suburban or newly developed localities. [...]
Non-denominational membership doubled between 1990 and 2001, according to our analysis. We believe the growth in attendance at non-denominational churches marks the emergence of a broader trend in which denominational affiliation is perceived as an unnecessary limiting factor in attracting new members. We believe the notable success of non-denominational mega-churches throughout the country is supporting evidence of this trend. While church attendance at the average American church increased by 12% between 2000 and 2005, average church attendance at mega-churches across the country increased by an astounding 57.3%.
Growth in mega-churches closely tied to “non-denominational reformation”. In recent years, the notion that church could serve as both a house of worship as well as a social destination throughout the week has experienced a revival within the non-denominational community. Importantly, we believe this revival has been manifest in recent church construction projects, where the church is designed to serve as a multi-use facility. This trend is evidenced by the rapid growth of mega-churches. According to a study conducted in 2005, there were approximately 1,210 mega-churches in the United States, nearly twice the number that existed just five years ago. By definition, mega-churches have attendance of greater than 2,000 people on a weekly basis, greater than four times the average Christian church in the United States. We believe this segment of the church finance market will continue to provide additional opportunities for lenders into the foreseeable future, primarily given the strong attendance rates and robust financial contributions from membership.
Financial contributions to churches continue to rise, particularly within specific pockets of the Christian community. Church attendance is not only a key barometer to the spiritual health of a church body, it can also be a good indication of a church’s financial health. In 2005, church attendance hit a 7-year high at 45% of the domestic adult population, a net-positive for church giving trends. According to our estimates, annual giving to U.S. protestant churches is $93 billion. [html here; pdf.doc here]
Holy cash-cow! $93,000,000,000.00!
Yes, it’s a sales prospectus. Yes, it has to be rosy. But, cripes, I hope they take a bath!
Oh - why did I google “US+church+income+2005“? Only because Falwell was up in arms about the $8billion porn industry…
Just saying…
17 May 2007, on 5:59 am
[...] Ok, so, maybe they have changed their ways (which I do believe is the case) and now they are trying to make up for the mistakes of the past by doing something really good, which is commendable and…well…Jesus would be proud I’m sure. But having just read this post on God is for suckers I really can’t help thinking that this is really just a really half arsed attempt. [...]
17 May 2007, on 7:59 am
AND let’s keep letting them have that tax exempt status!!!!
17 May 2007, on 12:03 pm
According to one of my fundie relatives, “Giving anything less than 10% to the church is the same as stealing!” Of course, he wasn’t happy when I started asking questions. He’d already made the mistake of telling me how much the church he attends costed to build (Over 1 million dollars), and that was supported by the preacher of the church.
Of course, churches do not give back to the community nearly as much as they take in. They consider their spiritual support as worth more than money can buy.
-Berlzebub
17 May 2007, on 12:54 pm
Follow the link in comment #1 and you’ll find a thoughtful post by a 16-year-old in the UK. His post ends with:
Sadly, our xian teens would fail to see his excellent point…
17 May 2007, on 2:13 pm
^ That’s a smart teen…
Good post, Naomi, although teeth-grindingly infuriating! Building eyesore-monstrosity-psyche-and-money-gobbling mega-churches is supposed to improve humanity and the world how? Solve global problems like, oh, I don’t know, extreme poverty how? And of course, none of the cabals behind these mega-brainwashing centers are ever content with their mere building and regular full-capacity attendance; they’re always asking for more money, most often to bloat their ranks and build more eyesores even more (Benny Hinn convincing his zombie followers that his ministry really, really needs that private jet comes to mind)!
This makes me so angry–!
17 May 2007, on 7:52 pm
I’ve been thinking of this “glowing picture” of xianity growing steadily for the next five years, based on the past five years and remembered that some of the growth is from that freaky nonsense of Y2K! And how society was going to devolve into chaos and anarchy! And it would be every man for himself! Booo!
Plus, some of the growth came from people returning, reflexively, to their church after 9/11.
So, is this report purposely “rosy” but based on false assumptions?
17 May 2007, on 10:25 pm
Think of the good that money could do …
18 May 2007, on 11:12 am
Not quite the same as above, but here’s a quote from one person who broke away from Sylvia Browne’s church:
You can read more here. I’m glad some church goers recognize the inaction. When I was a kid, I didn’t think about it. In retrospect, the church I went to was one of those irrelevant social clubs Martin Luther King warned about.
18 May 2007, on 2:55 pm
That money could build a lot of porn studios - porn studios that would pay their property taxes. Seriosly though, I could care less about porn studios - I’m more of a home video type.
A local developer recently contributed a donation to a volunteer rain garden/ prairie restoration project which my mother and I are coordinating. Did he do this because he deeply cares about the environment? I guess he would like to see green spaces incorporated into our town so eyes are turned away from the massive sprawl which he profits from. I think he’s primarily concerned with something people like falwell considered heavily - PR.
The church is guilty of massive amounts of tax evasion. The church wastefully builds gawdy crosses and builings which destroy our natural landscape. The church is indierectly or directly responsible for many of the social problems which they pat themselves on the back for helping to overcome.
18 May 2007, on 6:33 pm
Bronze Dog, it doesn’t surprise me one bit, and I wish more sheeple would wake up to the long-term cons that hag has been pulling and dump her ass!
Can you tell I hate Sylvia Browne?