How the economy affected churches over the last year
Percent of U.S. Protestant pastors and church leaders, 2009 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Negatively impacted (57%). Lowest: Financially positive (9%).
- Negatively impacted: 57%
- Unaffected: 35%
- Financially positive: 9%
Source: Barna Group, The Economy’s Impact on Churches: Congregational Budgets (Part 1 of 3) · Barna study, fourth quarter of 2009, 1,114 Protestant leaders; telephone and online interviews. Article published 2023-12-05.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Negatively impacted (57%). Lowest: Financially positive (9%). Negatively impacted: 57%. Unaffected: 35%. Financially positive: 9%.
Who published this data?
Barna Group, 2009. Source: Barna Group, The Economy’s Impact on Churches: Congregational Budgets (Part 1 of 3) (https://www.barna.com/research/the-economys-impact-on-churches-congregational-budgets-part-1-of-3/).
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- Disability-related modifications churches made in the past year Lifeway Research, 2026
- Multi-ethnic Protestant churches Lifeway Research, 2010
- Church finances over the last two months Barna Group, 2009
- Church leaders who made no ministry changes due to the economy Barna Group, 2009
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.