Surviving a Tough Economy

According to some economists, we are in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in generations. A recent survey found that the nation’s economy is the top concern for the majority of American adults.[1] The economy was chosen as “the most important issue facing the United States” by over half of the respondents. More people identified the economy as the top concern than chose healthcare, terrorism, immigration, and social security reform combined. Their anxiety is justified. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the average American family has lost nearly 18 percent of its net wealth in this recession.[2] 

Many church planters have felt the impact of this downturn and are doing their best to lead their congregations through these uncertain days. If you’re one of them, this issue is for you. Today we’ll review some of the things a church planter can do to keep his congregation strong during times that are financially challenging.

1.      Remember God’s promises. God is able to provide for our needs regardless of the headlines. Philippians 4:19 states, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (HCSB). God’s desire is to bless His church. He wants new churches to thrive and spread His Good News throughout their communities. He is the one who meets the needs of every congregation. Never was this clearer to me than last week. I was speaking to a church planter who lamented that his offerings were down by over half. “How are your surviving?” I asked. He replied, “I don’t know how to explain it other than God. We haven’t gone without anything.”

2.      Focus on the good things. The fact of the matter is that a bad economy in North America is better than a good economy in most parts of the world. Even with all of the bad economic news, we still live in one of the most prosperous societies in human history. Therefore, each person has to choose what they will focus on—the downturn or the unbelievable goodness of God to meet our basic needs, but not all of our wants. Paul admonished believers, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9, HCSB). This verse wasn’t written in some luxurious setting, it was written from a prison cell! Paul set an example for those of us who are leaders in ministry. During difficult times find good things and focus on them.

 3.      Don’t let fear rule. Fear is contagious, and it may tempt some in your leadership to retreat from the ministry vision that God has given your young congregation. They may use the economy as a pretext to cut back on ministry, even if your congregation hasn’t been excessively hurt by the downturn. Remind them of Joshua’s words to the people of Israel when they had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land but were sidelined by fear, “Only don’t rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:9, HCSB). What Joshua was saying is that it is wrong to make spiritual decisions out of fear. The people of God should remember God’s power and seek to follow His will, regardless of the circumstance.

 4.     Challenge your people. A temptation some church planters may be facing is to use the difficult economy as an excuse to minimize the challenges they put before their congregation to be faithful in giving. That can be a bad move. God can use times like these to help develop faithful stewards. Consider for example, the members of the “Greatest Generation.” Many of these seasoned saints are among the most faithful stewards in our denomination. If you ask them how or when they learned to give, many of them will point to the Great Depression. They’ll describe a poverty we can’t imagine and say with a gleam in their eye, “But God was faithful. Our family learned to give generously, and God took care of every need.” In short, we learn our greatest life-lessons through difficult times. 

 5.     Find new opportunities for ministry. Congregations across North America are discovering that there are people who are more open to the gospel because of this recession. By developing strategic ministries to serve those who are hurting, your church can shine the light of the gospel into the hearts of families who are seeking help. For example, consider developing ministries to help unemployed individuals find work or partnering with community organizations to help feed hungry families.

The bottom line is that these are unusual days. Many of us (including myself) have never seen this kind of economic uncertainty. However, this is not the time to retreat. God’s desire is for the good news of the cross to penetrate throughout the world. He is faithful to give us every resource we need to accomplish His will. Who knows, it could be that these unusual days of uncertainty are an open door to share a message of hope with a hurting world. It could be that these are the best days ever for planting new churches.

Written by Greg Penna. Greg is a member of the Church Planting staff at NAMB.