David King, director of the Lake Institute, said the institute surveyed 555 congregations for the study, mostly from a wide range of Christian traditions, along with a few Jewish and Muslim groups.<\/p>\n
While not a representative sample, he said, the study gives a snapshot of how congregations have fared during the COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Most have done pretty well, with both participation and finances holding steady.<\/p>\n
About half (52%) have seen more people participating during the pandemic. At more than half, giving has remained the same or increased, while 41% of congregations say giving has gone down. Only 14% have had to cut or furlough staff, in part because many congregations (65%) had received a Payroll Protection Program loan from the Small Business Administration.<\/p>\n
King said he was surprised by how well congregations adapted during the pandemic, especially in the early days last spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongregations really buckled down and did amazing work, quickly pivoting to online services and responding in a lot of creative ways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n NEW Ahead of the Trend<\/p>\n New study shows that during COVID-19 most congregations "have done pretty well, with both participation and finances holding steady."@RNS<\/a> @LakeInstitute<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/4GvYF16ZWm<\/a><\/p>\n — theARDA.com (@ReligionData) October 1, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n