When the Episcopal Church recently announced cuts to its national staff, it was the latest in a long-running cycle among historic U.S. Protestant denominations declines in members leading to declines in funding and thus in staff.
And it wasnt alone.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also announced recent cuts to staff at its headquarters and in its global missions program. The United Methodist Church, after undergoing a major schism, has settled into a historically low budget, having cut its numbers of bishops and other positions.
While the circumstances vary from one denomination to another, there are some common threads. Several Protestant denominations are losing members, particularly the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and other historic mainline groups that have not only been aging and shrinking but have suffered schisms as they moved in more progressive directions.
At the same time, the number of nondenominational churches has grown over the past decade, as have the ranks of the religiously unaffiliated.
As a result, denominations have had to do less with less not only cutting budgets to balance the bottom line, but making strategic changes and trying out new ideas.
Despite their different structures, every one of these national bodies really have to deal with changing social contexts and ethos, said Scott Thumma, co-director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. A lot of that has to do with the skepticism around national organizations and institutions.
In their heyday, denominational offices oversaw mission organizations that sent large numbers of church workers to far corners of the world. They put out officially sanctioned hymnals, devotional guides, magazines and Sunday School materials. They organized big national conventions that set and fiercely debated policy and doctrine. They set standards for how ministers were trained, credentialed and disciplined. They ran historical societies and pension funds for ministers.
The Southern Baptist Convention s Cooperative Program, marking its 100th anniversary this year, is a testament to the traditional idea that its more efficient to pool everyones money and trust leaders to allocate it wisely. The convention still runs a large missions program. But its churches arent sending as much as they used to. The SBC has also declined in membership. and it faces unique challenges such as litigation following a report on sexual misconduct. Its Executive Committee, which trimmed its staff in 2023, is putting its Nashville office up for sale.
Nowadays, not only has trust in centralized leadership faded, but there often are fewer church members to support programs and activities. Many denominational churches are acting more like nondenominational ones downloading music or Sunday School lessons from independent rather than official sources.
Last month, the Episcopal Church announced the layoff of 14 workers, with another 16 retiring this year under an incentive program. Another 13 vacant positions are being eliminated. Other staffers are being trained to take on new roles, and the denomination projects it will have a net total of about 110 full-time workers by next year.
Our goal was to meet the emerging financial reality but also to determine how we can continue to serve the church as its becoming something different than it was, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said in an interview.
Its creating networks on the ground, he said. Its paying attention to what is new and working, and lifting that up.
Some of the shift in strategy will involve looking at ways to support local dioceses and parishes, which are better equipped to know what their needs are, Rowe said.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) cut 12 positions from its central offices late last year. It also enacted a major change in its approach to global missions earlier this year, eliminating the position of mission co-worker, or those who worked directly in other countries in schools, churches or other ministries. The church will retain workers who will maintain regular contacts with Presbyterian and other churches overseas, as well as interfaith contacts, while also working with diaspora communities in the United States. The world mission staff reduced from 79 to 44, according to a church announcement last month.
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