A CT analysis of federal data shows that ministries received about $7 billion in forgiven PPP loans, with about a third of US churches receiving funding.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government provided an unusual lifeline to tens of thousands of Christian organizations and churches through forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the CARES Act.
That aid amounted to roughly $7 billion in forgiven loans, according to an analysis of federal data by Christianity Today. Most of that funding—about $5 billion—went to churches. Federal aid has gone directly to churches before, in the form of disaster assistance, for example, but rarely at this level.
A new study on the impact of COVID-19 on the American church from Arbor Research Group and ChurchSalary, a ministry of Christianity Today, estimates that slightly more than one-third of all US churches received a PPP loan of some kind. (Almost all of those loans were forgiven, though there were rare instances of churches repaying the federal government.)
The individual loans to Christian organizations ranged from a few hundred dollars to over $10 million. Heritage Christian Services, a Christian organization serving those with disabilities, received one of the largest forgiven loans at about $10 million. Life.Church in Oklahoma received about $7 million.
Some ministries did not seek the aid because they wondered about future conditions attached to it. Steve Smith, the administrative bishop for the New York state Church of God in Christ, told CT that some of his pastors in the state worried there might “be some attachment later on that will have negative effects,” he said.
Early in the pandemic, both Christian financial advisor Dave Ramsey and Crown Financial Ministries’ CEO Chuck Bentley urged churches not to take the PPP money. Ramsey argued it allowed the government into the “management” …
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