Impact of COVID-19 on Churches may lead to Reduced Budgets
A Solution: Review Your Church Insurance Policy
By Brad Shrum
Along with the rest of the nation and the world in general, U.S. churches and non-profits also struggled with the impacts of COVID-19. In many ways, churches and non-profits were already struggling before mandatory shutdowns arrived in March of 2020. Some of the challenges were church demographics:
Decreased membership and attendees –
This is due to a general erosion of traditional church values among the population and includes all age groups. What was good for grandparents of proceeding generations of Americans are not a perceived good for the present generation, and the dropout rates are staggering, depending upon different denominations. While this landscape is attributed to many factors, it is not the intent of this writing to pinpoint the causes, but to acknowledge the general fact. This overall general church landscape condition does not take into account the pockets of growth among several churches and both denominational and non-denominational growth in certain areas.
Given the decreased membership and attendance leads to a great fallout – reduced giving and donations.
With reduced giving and donations, there is a need for a reduced budget, sometimes in a very dramatic way. This reduced budget may directly affect the following:
1. Reduction in a congregation’s general fund.
Think of the general fund as a checking account used to pay weekly and monthly expenses. Once the general fund starts deteriorating, the effects ripple down.
The rippling down effect is felt in a church’s maintenance ability. This is especially felt if a church owns an older building that requires more frequent maintenance.
Administrative staff is directly affected.
Conference giving and support, something a conference requires for their own financial health.
2. Ministry opportunities are handcuffed.
These consist of both local and regional, and even national and international outreaches with mainstream denominations.
3. Community aid achieved through benevolence offerings and activities.
These may include ministry paid items such as monthly rent for members, food help for the unfortunate in a community, and ministry.
This reduced budget leads to a need to lower fixed expenses, of which insurance is a part of, and can be a help and even a remedy in some cases.
This can include direct insurance savings, such as what is outlined in this comprehensive insurance church protection PDF, and indirect savings, as a result of risk management practices that a church adopts and implements for additional savings.
Comprehensive Church Protection
.pdf
Download PDF • 1.13MB
MAX Insurance Agency, in partnership with GuideOne Insurance Company, an A rated national church insurance carrier, can provide both direct and indirect savings for churches and non-profits.
For more information about our church and non-profit insurance, contact me at 800-832-4689 or bshrum@maxinsurance.com. You may also complete our Check Coverage form. I would love to help you with your church insurance or non-profit insurance needs.
Brad Shrum, CPCU
Goose Hunter, Father of Two Sons, and Insurance Agent Direct Phone - 913-754-3823 bshrum@maxinsurance.com LinkedIn Facebook
Brad has worked at MAX for the past 16 years and has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry doing underwriting, field management work, and sales. Outside of the office, Brad is an ordained Southern Baptist Deacon and a Sunday School teacher of 30 years. In addition, Brad is a long-time Vacation Bible School teacher and has an ongoing 20+ year Nursing Home Ministry. Since he was a young teenager, Brad has been an avid goose hunter, traveling across North America while pursuing this noble bird and enjoying the outdoor world.