Churches seeing increase in donations

Monday, May 19, 2008

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Some churches are seeing an increase in giving.

ST. PETERSBURG (Bay News 9) -- Despite a tight economy and rising fuel prices, some Bay area churches are actually seeing an increase in giving.

First Baptist Church in St. Petersburg Pastor Austin Ganly said people going through rough patches may turn to spiritual healing. And membership at the church has followed an upward trend since January, meaning a 14 percent increase in offerings compared to last year.

"We have had over 1,200 new people come through our doors, and we have new tithing, larger tithing, contributions are up," Ganly said. "The Lord has blessed this church in the last four months."

And envelopes are still being filled at a smaller St. Petersburg congregation at Liberty Baptist Church. Senior Pastor Dr. Jay Lowe said they have dedicated tithers keeping their donations steady.

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"When we say tither we say 10 percent of their personal income," Lowe said. "And right now, it is above 70 percent, probably 76 percent or 77 percent of the people are tithers and that's phenomenal."

First Baptist Church just gave $20,000 to Pinellas Hope last week. Pinellas Hope is a local camp for the homeless. Last year, Liberty Baptist Church members collected $480,000 for mission projects around the world.