A 30 year recession no one is talking about
In 1990, $228 Billion dollars were given to churches in the United States. This was roughly 67% of all charitable giving.
Flash forward to 2016 and this number has declined to $117 Billion dollars annually or about 32% of all charitable giving.
Giving to churches is half of what it was 30 years ago, and there are more churches (~50,000 more) then there were in 1990.
The result is that there are more churches competing for fewer dollars. Less available dollars means fewer resources to support outreach and impact.
If you are a church leader and you have felt the pinch, this is part of the reason why. This is the epidemic.