[5]Faith Report News Note,
Southlake Foursquare Church in West Linn told KATU-2 news [6] on the concern of seeing donation plates half empty during the holiday season. Regardless of donations being down, attendance was up at Southlake Foursquare during the holidays. The trouble is that a recession creates a greater need for the church’s assistance while at the same time it reduces the funds available.
The nationally known pastor, Pastor Rick Warren, sent out an alert [7] that his church’s budget was approaching a million dollar deficit . Pastor Warren stated that 10% of their congregation were unemployed.
There is good news on the horizon. The international firm, Dunham+Company reports that the 2009 church donation season was below the previous year. However the firm witness a rise in the fourth quarter donations compared to the entire year. This would fall in line with the national improvement of the economy during the same period.