The Bulletin of News and Notes Related to Fund-Raising Quarterly Issue - Vol. 3 - Contributions

Sep 21, 2026

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Quarterly fund-raising news and statistical notes summarize giving for religious purposes across 52 Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches in the United States for 1957. The report compiles totals of $2,041,908,161, with 81.1% directed to local congregational expenses and 18.9% to benevolences including foreign and home missions and relief abroad. It provides comparable figures for foreign missions and benevolences, membership totals, new building expenditures, Canadian contributions, and per-member giving rankings.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Comparable Figures

Foreign Missions

New Buildings

Concerning Membership

Highest Per Member Gifts - All Purposes

Highest Per Member Gifts for Benevolences

4y3一5 A Compilation # The Bulletin of News and Notes Related to Fund-Raising Quarterly Issue Vol.3 Novem ber 1,1957 GIVING FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES-A NEW RE CORD52 DENOMINATIONS REPORT OVER TWO BILLION DOLLARS (This 1957 report on giving by 52 Profestont ond Eostern Orthodox Churches in the United Stofes hos beenpublished by the Notionol Council of Churches of Christ in the United Stotes of Americo.It wos compiled by- Benson Y.Landis of the Council's Bureau of Research and SurveyandThomas K.Thompson,of the Department of Stewardship and Benevolence. Contributions totalling $2,041,908,161 are reported by 52 Protestant and Eastern Ortho-dox Churches in the United States.Of this amount,$1,655,039,930——or 81.1 per cent—is reported for local congregational expenses.The contributions to benevolences,includ-ing foreign and home missions and relief abroad,amounted to $386,868,231,or 18.9 per centof the total ## Comparable Figures Foreign Missions The 52 bodies report a total of $69,609,916 this yearfor foreign missions.For forty-one bodies reporting com-parable figures this year and last,the total contributionsthis year were$65,677,940,compared with $61,050,164last year. Forty-one of the 52 bodies reported comparable figuresthis year and the previous year.These forty-one reportedtotal contributions of $1,958,838,037,compared with atotal of $1.782,331,204 the previous year,an increaseof 9.9 per cent. For benevolences.the 41 bodies reported $370,625,-248,compared with $344,653,328 a year earlier,a gainof 7.5 per cent. Thc per-member contribution for forcign missions inthe 41 bodies was $1.90 this year,compared with $1.81last year,a gain of almost 5 per cent. For congregational cxpenses,the total figure for the41 bodies was $1,588.212,789,a gain of 10.4 per centover the amount of $1,437,677,876 the previous year. Nine of the 41 bodies giving comparable figures re-ported decreases in giving for foreign missions duringthc past year. The per-mcmbcr contribution for all purposes in the41 bodics reporting comparable figures for both yearswas $56.74 this year,compared with $52.88 the previousyear,an increase of 7.3 per cent.These bodics reporteda per-membcr contribution for congregational expensesof $46.01,and for benevolences,one of $10.74. ## New Buildings For new buildings 25 bodies furnished a figure thisyear.In these 25 bodies,the total amount reported fornew buildings was $223,518,644,equal to 29 per cent ofa total of $769,351,562 reported for local congrcgationalexpenses. Five of the 41 bodics reported decreases in the amountsreported for congrcgational expenses during the past year. Three of the 41 bodies reported decreases in theamounts reported for benevolences,when this year's re-ports are compared with the previous year. A year earlier 21 bodies reported $281,385,636 fornew buildings,equal to 33.4 per cent of a total of $842,-015,726 reported for congregational expenses. Canadian Churches The latest information from six Canadian bodies re-veals total contributions of $84,731,181 this year.Ofthis amount $69,385,837 was for congregational ex-penses and $15,345,344 for benevolences.Last year thesix bodies reported $72,515,379 for all purposes;$58,-705,217 for congregational expenses and $13,810,162for benevolences. 2.Wesleyan Methodist ........................197.43 5.Conference of Evangelical Mennonite..........144.65 11.Church of God(Anderson,Ind.)..............109.92 13.North American Baptist General Conference.... 89.4413.Presbyterian Church in U.S................... 21.05 16.The General Conference,Mennonite Church ....: 82.1816.United Prcsbyterian Church of N.A............ 16.19 17.The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod........ 80.8817.Church of God(Anderson,Ind.).............. 16.17 20.American Lutheran ......................... 72.3520.Associate Reformed Presbyterian .............. 14.26 ## Concerning Membership A total membership of 36,277,963 persons is re

FAQs

What is the total amount of contributions reported for 1957, and how is it allocated?

Contributions totaling $2,041,908,161 are reported for 1957. Of this amount, $1,655,039,930 (81.1%) is for local congregational expenses, and $386,868,231 (18.9%) is for benevolences.

How do foreign missions contributions compare with the previous year?

For comparable figures, 41 bodies report $65,677,940 for foreign missions this year versus $61,050,164 last year. This is an increase of the reported totals compared with the previous year.

What does the report say about membership and per-member giving?

A total membership of 36,277,963 persons is reported for 52 bodies this year, compared with 35,397,434 in 51 bodies last year. The report also lists per-member contribution figures, including amounts for foreign missions, congregational expenses, and benevolences.

Sep 21, 2026

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