Increased Giving, Attendance, Drive Rising Church Financial Trend
by Allie Martin
July 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A study of the estimated $28 billion church finance market is projecting a major growth rate in the next five years. According to a PRNewswire article, the recently published 27-page research report is the first to fully define the scale and key drivers of the church finance market.The study conducted by the research and consulting firm Lambert Edwards Analytics explored the financing mechanisms currently used by churches and identified three key factors believed to be responsible for creating tremendous growth potential in the church finance market. The primary causal factors, according to the study, include a surge in church attendance, the proliferation of mega-churches, and increased financial contributions.
Church attendance was found to be an important trend indicator. The study revealed that average church attendance rose 12 percent between 2000 and 2005 and is reported to have hit a seven-year high of 45 percent in 2005. Meanwhile, at mega-churches, where attendance is greater than 30 times the average church in the U.S., the average attendance increased 57.3 percent from 2000-2005, creating need for larger sanctuaries and campuses.
Noel Ryan, research director with Lambert Edwards Analytics, predicts the church construction market will continue to expand rapidly in the near future. "We currently estimate that the church construction market stands to be at roughly $28 billion annually," he notes. "We're currently projecting 40 percent growth over the next five years to $40 billion by 2010."
However, Ryan points out that the current growth of church finances is not merely a function of increased average congregation size. Annual giving to U.S. Protestant churches in 2005 is currently estimated at $93 billion, he observes, and some analysts are crediting higher average giving and a growing baby boomer demographic for the surge in giving.
And many congregations are using their growing funds in creative ways, the consulting firm research director notes. "Most of the churches out there are looking for a way to limit and/or decrease their cost of capital and allocate resources to missions and other areas they'd like to focus on," he says.
Ryan anticipates that, as awareness grows for the "relatively undiscovered" church finance market, the appetite of financing institutions will follow suit. This, he suggests, will in turn lower the cost of capital for borrowers and will allow for gradual access to capital for America's churches.
Lambert Edwards Analytics is recognized as a leading research and consulting firm as well as an expert on the Christian market. The company has published the findings of its church finance study in a comprehensive market research report examining demographic and economic factors impacting the church finance market, church construction data, and giving patterns by faith and denomination.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
