Tithing in Decline

A recent poll by pollster George Barna shows that only 5 percent of Americans say they tithe, or give at least 10 percent of their income to religious congregations and charitable groups. According to other studies on church giving, congregants give an average of 2.58 percent of their income to their churches. That's down from 3.11 percent in 1968. "Tithing is in decline," said the Rev. William Hull, a research professor at Samford University and a Baptist minister. "The older generation was taught to tithe. It's not being taught much anymore. Decades ago, the church was a focal point of philanthropy. Now para-church ministries, schools, and charitable agencies compete for those dollars, he said. [Religion News Service, June 2008]

Young Adults and Ministry

Many young people want to do something for the healing of the world, but fewer than 60 percent of them who attend seminary want to serve a church. Young people look at local congregations and they don't see people their age in the pews. They see places that need pastors and they aren't places a young person wants to live. They see arguments about issues that are not important to them. They don't see the church as having a voice in the public square. There are so many places now to do not-for-profit work. Seminary students are being asked to lead into a future that isn't very clear right now. The UMC has a particular challenge because of the connectional system and the bishop. For young people with two-career families, having to say, "I'll go where the bishop sends me," can be problematic. [Melissa Wiginton, vice president for ministry programs at the Fund for Theological Education, Emory University, Atlanta, quoted in United Methodist Reporter, July 4, 2008.]