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Christian Ministries Remain Optimistic About Revenue Growth

A significant number of Christian ministries responded that they expect more than 10 percent growth

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Ministry leaders remain optimistic about revenue growth throughout the year, according to MinistryWatch’s quarterly survey of the largest Christian ministries in the country.

In April, 65.5 percent of respondents to the survey indicated that they expect their revenue to increase during the next year. That is down slightly from January, when 71 percent of respondents were expecting to see a revenue increase.

Of the ministry leaders expecting revenue to increase over the coming year, the largest portion—almost 45 percent—expect revenue will go up between one and ten percent.  However, a significant number­—almost 21 percent—believe their ministry’s revenue will increase by more than ten percent.

In January’s survey, leaders were slightly less optimistic about the amount of growth in revenue, with only 17 percent expecting growth greater than ten percent over the next year.

Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust, wrote in Forbes that she expects the continuing economic uncertainty to impact charitable giving. Donors are more hesitant to make gifts when they aren’t sure whether they may need the assets, she explained.

However, a study by the Hoover Institution showed that religious people are 25 percent more likely to donate money to a charity so this may help explain why Christian ministry leaders are more optimistic about revenue growth.

The survey results may be somewhat inconsistent given the economic conditions so far in 2023, but they are consistent with revenue increases seen by ministries over the last 12 months.

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In answer to a question about revenue in the last 12 months, a majority of ministries—almost 80 percent—said they’d seen an increase. This is consistent with results in both the January and October surveys, which both showed a majority of ministries had seen an increase in revenue over the last year.

In the April survey, 38 percent of respondents said their ministry revenue had increased by over ten percent. In January’s survey, only 18% percent of respondents reported an increase of over 10% in revenue.

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s Third Quarter reports, charitable giving increased in 2022, but the money was given by fewer donors. Funds given went up by 5 percent, but the number of donors decreased by 7 percent.

MinistryWatch has conducted three quarterly surveys as part of this project. In April 2023, 71 ministry leaders responded to the survey sent to the top 1000 Christian ministries in the country.

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Kim Roberts

Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate from Baylor University. She has home schooled her three children and is happily married to her husband of 25 years.

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