Churches feel the pinch as some members unable to give tithes

With noticeably lower amounts of tithes and offerings being made by churchgoers struggling to survive the COVID-19 outbreak, some churches said they, too, are taking a financial hit.

In an interview with The Nassau Guardian yesterday, Pastor Mario Moxey, of Bahamas Harvest Church, noted that while they have introduced online means for their members to give, the contributions are “not to the level that it once was”.

“Everything is online at this point,” Moxey said.

“Fortunately for us, we started this process from last year, so our congregation was somewhat able to make a very relatively easy transition to an online platform. Many of them haven’t, though [and] so, that has impacted our ability to receive tithes and offerings.

“The other thing is, our nation is going through economic hardship right now, and so, many of them have been laid off. As a result, that impacts their ability to give. You can’t tithe if you’re not making anything.”

Bishop Margo Burrows, of Global Ministries, said it is a challenge, especially for churches with smaller congregations like hers.

“The challenges are here, because it was not something that we were able to prepare for and also [for] a small congregation and following of my church, it’s not like economically they would have had these reserves,” Burrows said.

“I have a lot of young people who had just started working, were just employed recently.”

She added, “Financially, it is a huge impact.

“I do have very supportive members to still contribute but the difference in their contributing and paying in tithes is there are no tithes to pay. So, while I understand that, I see their loyalty, I see their faithfulness.

“But, of course, [money] is not there, so we hope that our economy is soon back up and running because we are impacted, because there is nothing to pay tithes of.”

As the country remains under a state of emergency over COVID-19, large public gatherings – including church services – remain prohibited.

Many churches have adapted to streaming sermons or services online, and having prayer meetings or small groups online.

This includes introducing ways that congregations can pay tithes or give offerings electronically, via online banking or through apps like PayPal.

But, thousands of workers in the country remain without a source of income after having lost their jobs, and layoffs have hit the churches too.

The Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, earlier this month, laid off 66 staff, and Moxey said Bahamas Harvest Church also had to part with some of its staff.

“The unfortunate thing with us is, obviously, because of the downturn in the economy, we’ve also had to lay off some members of our staff,” he said.

“And, so, we’ve been able to retain about 50 percent of our staff and then those of us that remain on staff, we took a substantial pay cut.”

Even one of the oldest churches in the country, Bethel Baptist Church, was feeling the squeeze, according to Reverend Timothy Stewart.

But, he said that among his congregation are those who would still make it a point to contribute to the church.

“Of course, would the income be what it normally is? No,” Stewart said.

“The income will not be what it normally is, but the truth of the matter is that you have persons within the life of the church, within the ministry of the church, who literally will refuse to see the ministries of the church go unattended.

“God has blessed us before this time [and] He is blessing us now. Bethel [Baptist Church] is now 230 years old probably this year, and I’ve been here pastoring now 38 years, so you know, the ministry is pretty strong.”

On the other hand, Pastor Cedric Moss, of Kingdom Life Church, told The Guardian that “in many ways, nothing’s changed for our church”.

“I would say, generally, we have managed well,” Moss said.

“From a financial point of view, [we] have not been adversely affected. We have communicated to our members that the two options to give at the moment, for those who are able to give during this time, are by online banking – which the majority of our people had – and also by bank deposit. And, so, people have been adjusting to that.”

He added, “Largely, we’re doing well by the grace of God.”

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/04/23/churches-feel-the-pinch-as-some-members-unable-to-give-tithes/