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Churches try to save souls, money

Standing before his flock, armed with a flip pad and a thick black marker, Jason Albelo, the young jeans-wearing pastor of Gresham's East Hill Church, drew pictures to explain.

Why the church laid off four workers, including half its youth ministry staff, over the summer. Why Albelo's own father, an East Hill pastor, was taking early retirement. Why the church was closing one of its worship venues and shutting off financial support for a ministers' college.

Albelo picked up one of the notecards with audience comments during his Aug. 6 question-and-answer session. "Is this happening in other churches?" the card asked. Yes.

As housing problems deepen, unemployment creeps up and gas prices chew holes in billfolds, some area churches are feeling the bite of a bad economy. Church giving doesn't always dip during economic slowdowns, but giving is related to income, experts say. The problems that depress back-to-school sales and holiday shopping affect collection plates the same way.

Across the country, about 14 percent of the congregations surveyed by the National Association of Church Business Administration last month said they've been hurt by a decline in giving. Another 37 percent said support has slowed, but that they couldn't tell whether it was the economy or a typical summer slump.

The severity of the problem seems to depend on the region, said the association's CEO, Simeon May .

In Oregon, "I am seeing a tightening of belts," said Brent Huff, a pastor and church business administrator from Albany who leads the local chapter of the association.

Repairs delayed

Methods range from the usual -- delaying hiring and putting off repairs -- to the novel, such as chopping watering costs by irrigating with water left over from baptisms.

Some, like East Hill and Gresham's New Beginnings Christian Center, are laying off staff, although "that is a severe, out-of-the-ordinary impact," Huff said.

Churches typically "try to control costs in every other area before they go to the drastic step" of a layoff, said May. "They don't want to be in the business of hurting people."

As one of the area's bigger and better-known churches -- about 2,500 to 3,000 people attend weekend services, and 8,000 show up on Easter -- East Hill is used to growth. Church leaders had budgeted for a drop in attendance and giving last year when its popular 23-year leader, Ted Roberts, stepped down as senior pastor to found a new ministry. But they didn't bargain on another $400,000 shortfall in the $5.6 million budget.

It is impossible to say how much of the problem is from the economy, rather than from the change in leadership, said East Hill's outreach pastor Ray Young.

Leaders tried cutting small things first, and even dipped into a rainy day fund. But in the end, they were forced to cut hard. About 700 people attended a service to pray over the pastors who were "released."

"We don't look at employees (as though) they're just numbers. It's family. We do everything we can," Young said. "It's gut wrenching to go through this process."

New Beginnings Christian Center, attended by about 1,600 people, started seeing problems about a year ago, said executive pastor Michael Hanson. It cut about 43 percent of its staff in two layoffs, mainly administrative staff, over the last year.

Revenue down

Annual revenue is down about 16 percent, Hanson said. The figure would be worse except for income the church is bringing in by renting its facilities as a conference and reception center, and operating a preschool that can generate about $40,000 a month at full capacity.

"That has been a wonderful blessing to help us get through," he said.

Like East Hill, New Beginnings asked volunteers to step in; cleaning and maintenance are now everyone's job, right down to shampooing classroom rugs. Volunteers are even pushing forward a project to build four soccer fields and two softball fields for community use outside the church building.

The initial plan, with outside lights, restrooms and paved parking, would have cost $800,000. The scaled-down project depends on donated tractors and volunteer labor; play will end at sundown and people will park on gravel.

Despite everything, "the church will remain strong, stay steady and keep moving forward," Hanson said.

Several other churches are reporting far less pain. The difference may be in the makeup of the congregations, said Pastor Mike Meeks of Eastlake Church in Chula Vista, Calif. Meeks, who recently spoke at East Hill in Gresham, laid off three full-time and two part-time staffers several months ago. Recently, he was able to hire two of them back.

Older congregations with stable membership can rely on the devotion of their core, he said. Young, fast-growing churches may have a stable core, but also a large number of members who aren't as committed to financial support.

When hard times come, "you don't have the same economic impact," Meeks said.

Keeping overhead low

In Gresham, Cornerstone Church, which emphasizes participation by every member, is "not being affected right now," said administrative assistant Polly Carl. Giving hasn't dropped, and expenses continue to be lean; the church meets in a school rather than spending money on overhead such as buildings.

Giving is slightly up at Boring's nondenominational Good Shepherd Church, operations pastor Steve Overby said. About 2,400 people attend the 32-year-old church on an average weekend, and 5,000 call it home.

Overby knows congregations experiencing layoffs and tough times, but "so far, we've not seen a tangible impact," he said.

Some churches are still waiting to see what is happening. In February, St. Henry's Catholic Church in Gresham prepared a budget for hard times. It anticipated a 5 percent drop in giving, put off expenses such as replacing old lights in the sanctuary and postponed half of the annual cost of living increase. But at this point, giving from the parish's 1,500 registered families seems about the same as it did last year, said business manager Dodi Baker.

"This is effectively the very beginning of our fiscal year," she said. "We will be able to tell in November and December. That's when the numbers (for giving) generally pick up."

Layoffs would be a last resort, especially because the church has only a handful of paid staff. Cutting someone would mean cutting an essential program.

"We'd talk about wage cuts rather than layoffs," she said. "The job market is terrible right now. We would not want to put anybody out there if we did not have to."

At East Hill, Albelo tried to encourage his congregation, pointing to the biblical book of Amos, in which God promises to sift the nation of Israel like grain in a sieve, promising tough judgment of sin, but also repair and restoration.

"God's promise is that not one seed will be lost in the shaking," Albelo said. "Just as God sifted Israel, he is sifting East Hill, for purposes of bringing about a new foundation."

Catherine Trevison: 503-294-5971; ctrevison@news.oregonian.com