The sacred money of church endowments for church growth and revitalization from a postmodern economic perspective

These are challenging times for congregations. Many congregations are declining in membership. Organized religion is less relevant than decades ago. Financial pressures on congregations are increasing. Small congregations experience these challenges intensely because they have fewer people and financial resources to stave off the declines and pressures. Endowments have allowed some small congregations to remain in existence when similar congregations without endowments have closed. Endowments can help congregations overcome lean times, achieve their missions, and implement plans for growth and revitalization. Knowledge of the processes and programs of endowment management in small congregations can provide insights about how money either advances a congregation's mission or allows it to remain in existence without a mission.; This study began as a survey of Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations of less than 100 members to determine the programs and processes used for endowment management and how those programs and processes were related to congregational identity and community context. Telephone interviews of leaders of 30 selected UU congregations were conducted. Twenty-six congregations had endowments.; Generally, these congregations were in trouble with declining memberships and with inaction toward socio-economic and demographic changes in their local communities. Further, most study congregations did not use good endowment management practices. One in three congregations had written management policies, one in twenty had a written endowment policy that considered the mission or vision of the congregation, and none had a bequest program. Generally, endowments were managed independently of any sense of governing congregational narratives. Congregational narratives are the various stories, policies, and statements that express programs, practices, processes, core spiritual values, theologies (including theologies of wealth), histories, traditions, rituals, missions, visions, and purposes.; This project argues, from a postmodern perspective, that an essential element of congregational vitality is the management of endowments based on congregational narratives that link endowment management policies with congregational visions and missions. Endowment management policies need to eschew approaches that try to apply irreducible economic factors or economic rules of thumb to all financial decisions because this use of irreducible economic factors in financial decision-making tends to trump congregational growth plans, outreach missions, and future visions.