What’s a Congregation Worth?

A look at whether a congregation adds economic value to its community.

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Related Elsewhere:

Previous articles related to church life and money & business include:

Should Congress Change Pastors' Housing Allowances? | The current tax code excludes the rental value of a home from pastors' taxable income. (March 28, 2011)

Are American Evangelicals Stingy? | Observers discuss whether Christians are generous enough with their money. (January 31, 2011)

How Evangelicals Give | Church members' giving is decreasing in the recession, especially as a percentage of income. (January 31, 2011)

CT previously spotlighted Christian names, how evangelicals give, evangelical vs. mainline politics, today's pilgrims, President Obama's faith, the future(s) of missions, health-care reform, Africa, American Idol, Haiti, Robert Park, persecution, Supreme Court and crosses, international religious liberty advocates, and church violence.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

April

Christianity Today April, 2011

Cover Story

Proselytizing in a Multi-Faith World

Ed Stetzer

God of the Schizophrenic

David Weiss

Evangelism as Sacrament

Owen Strachan

A Beautiful Anger

Linda Falter

Why We Love Amish Romances

Eric Miller

Books to Note

Excerpt

Counterfeit Gospels

Trevin Wax

Review

The Gods of the Checkout Aisle

Todd C. Ream

Poet Amena Brown Speaks the Truth in Rhythm and Rhymes

Mark Moring

Wilson's Bookmarks

John Wilson

Carolyn Arends Contemplates Her Own Death, and Yours

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

News

Sweat Lodge Prayers

Trevor Persaud

My Top 5 Books On Poverty

Brian Fikkert

Editorial

An Everyday Scandal

A Christianity Today Editorial

News

Rehab Revival: Evangelism Among Addicts Seeing Success

Bill Yoder in Moscow

An Improbable Alliance

Chuck Colson & Timothy George

News

Tough Calling in Africa

Ruth Moon in Niger

News

Pushing Back the Desert: Niger's Christians Get Creative for Daily Bread

Ruth Moon in Niger

Readers Write

News

Exit Visa: Iraqi Christians Look for Safe Haven

Ruth Moon

News

Thanksgiving Question Nearly Deports Tortured Christian

What Christian Novel Should Be Made Film?

Roy Anker, Steven D. Greydanus, and Barbara Nicolosi

News

Quotation Marks

Compiled by Ted Olsen

Two Peoples Separated by a Common Revelation

Multi-Faith Matters

News

Go Figure

Compiled by Ted Olsen

News

Borders' Bankruptcy Affects Christian Orgs, Pregnancy Center Signs Violate Free Speech & More News

News

Should Congress Change Pastors' Housing Allowances?

Compiled by Ruth Moon

Review

Rob Bell's Bridge Too Far

Our Latest

An image from a Woodstock festival and a CT magazine cover.

Disillusioned at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius

Daniel Silliman

CT helped readers make sense of wild cultural changes in 1969.

A woman hugging a computer chip

AI Romance Is Perverse

A. Trevor Sutton

Chatbots are making objectophlia commonplace. Christians have a moral duty to oppose these “relationships.”

On a world map, a chain reaches from the United States and hooks into Greenland.

The Bulletin

Greenland Ambitions, Worship Service Protest, and Talarico Shares His Faith

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Trump’s Greenland talk concerns Europe, protesters disrupt a church service, and a Democratic politician shares his beliefs.

Three book covers.

Finding God in the Wilderness

Elizabeth Woodson

Three devotional books to read this month.

A photo of Benjamin Watson at mic with the title of the podcast The Just Life overlaid on the image

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Sho Baraka: The Promise We Never Kept

Exploring justice rooted in faith, beyond repentance and towards repair.

An image from the 2025 March for Life.

Analysis

This Year, Protections for the Unborn Won’t Come from Washington

Daniel K. Williams

The White House and Congress seem uninterested in new pro-life measures. But crisis pregnancy centers will continue their mission, one life at a time.

Donald Trump speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, DC on June 22, 2024.

It’s Not ‘Christian Nationalism.’ It’s Conservative Identity Politics.

George Yancey

Academics and pundits critiquing evangelical voters have misdiagnosed their behavior.

Source image: Facebook / Edits by CT

News

Died: Christian Publishing Executive Robert Wolgemuth

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis

As author, agent, and former Thomas Nelson president, Wolgemuth shaped the Christian book world for decades.