The Great Dechurching: Funding Church Leaders in a Changing Landscape
U.S. church attendance has dropped for 30 years—now, how do we fund and sustain church leaders for the future?
Read MoreThe Great Dechurching: Funding Church Leaders in a Changing Landscape
Matt Elkins | Feb 28, 2025, 16:27 PM
U.S. church attendance has dropped for 30 years—now, how do we fund and sustain church leaders for the future?
Over the past 30 years, more than 40 million Americans have stopped attending church. Authors Jim Davis and Michael Graham, in The Great Dechurching1, call this one of the most significant shifts in American religious history.
This decline in attendance has left many churches reeling—not only struggling to grow as a faith community but also rethinking how their ministries in a changing cultural landscape can be financially sustained. This shift has significant implications, particularly for pastors and ministry leaders who traditionally rely on salaried positions within the church.
Navigating the Evolving Financial Landscape for Churches
Declining church attendance has led to a decrease in tithes and offerings, which is directly impacting church budgets. Many churches are already facing financial challenges, with some having to reduce staff or cut salaries. While large, established churches can still afford to maintain full-time paid positions, smaller and mid-sized churches are struggling more to fund pastoral roles as they did in the past.
This new reality is prompting churches and ministry leaders to rethink financial sustainability. Many are turning to a model long used by missionaries: support-based funding.
Support-Raising: A Model for the Future?
Missionaries have depended on raising financial support to fund their work for decades. Many pastors and church leaders in the U.S. may need to adopt this same approach. Instead of relying entirely on the church budget for their salary, pastors would raise funds from a network of individuals—such as friends, family, and ministry partners. These supporters would contribute regularly to sustain their ministry.
Support-raising provides several possibilities:
- Funding That Matches Mission: Support-raising frees church leaders to do the work the church body needs, not just the work the church organization needs to grow revenue. This stronger connection helps align their ministry efforts directly with their mission.
- Maintaining Focus on Evangelism: Support-raising helps staff and parishioners dedicate more time and resources to meaningful evangelism and evangelistic programming, instead of being drawn to programs that attract existing believers who can quickly contribute financially.
- Increased Financial Flexibility for Churches: By supplementing salaries with support-raised income, churches can help retain more pastoral leaders, even as traditional giving decreases.
- Empowering Church Leaders with Fundraising Skills: Many pastors lack experience in fundraising and building donor relationships. Training church leaders and their staff in these areas can effectively sustain and expand their ministries.
A New Reality for Vocational Ministry
As the U.S. church landscape evolves, support-based roles are becoming more common. The traditional salaried pastoral position is no longer guaranteed, and many ministry leaders must adapt. Not with a new idea, but one that mirrors the early church, where apostles and church leaders relied on the generosity of fellow believers to fund their work.
At Reliant, we are dedicated to equipping ministry leaders for the shifting landscape of church leadership. We see a support-based model as not just a solution to financial challenges, but an opportunity to strengthen partnerships, deepen community engagement, and cultivate a more mission-driven approach to ministry.
Considering Support-Based Ministry in Your Context?
If you’re a pastor or church leader considering a support-based role, now is the time to focus on:
- Building a network of supporters who are passionate about your ministry
- Mastering effective fundraising and communication strategies
- Partnering with Reliant for training and financial management support
The Great Dechurching is reshaping the future of vocational pastoral ministry. But with change comes opportunity—a chance to reimagine how church leaders are funded and sustained for the work ahead.
1Jim Davis and Michael Graham. The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? Zondervan, 2023.
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