STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

People attending a service Sunday morning at First Baptist Church on Third Street Southwest in Roanoke pass the offering plate.

STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Ushers collect the offering Sunday at First Baptist Church in Roanoke. In December, the church missed its donation goal for missions.

Pass the offering plate and trust in providence. That's what pastors and church finance officials are doing in the current economic downturn.

"To say I'm praying would be an understatement," said Don Whalen, volunteer chairman of stewardship and finance at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown Roanoke.

There's no sanctuary from credit card balances lingering, the stock markets that have plummeted since New Year's or soaring gasoline prices. Said Whalen: "People are worried and I don't blame them."

Some pastors are seizing on Sundays to remind members of their responsibilities. Michael DuVal, pastor at Journey Church, which meets at Valley View Grande 16 theater, titled his March 2 sermon on personal finances and debt, "It's Eating Me Alive." He preached that the cure to money woes is to give the church 10 percent of one's income, known as tithing, before spending on anything else.

Such beliefs are widespread among many Christians. "Those of us who tithe with a cheerful heart know that no matter what is going on with the economy, God will provide," said Pamela Hahn, a member of Christian Life International Church in Salem. The Internet software program trainer added, "God is our source, not our jobs."

Churches rely on faith to fill both the pews and their coffers, and some are carefully eyeing their expenses and cash flow. A few are making adjustments in the face of the uncertain economy. Mike Agee, business manager of St. John Lutheran Church in Southwest Roanoke County, has rescheduled his usual fall pledge drive -- in which members promise in writing how much money they'll contribute during the next year -- to take place after Easter. "This is a first for our church. The thinking is that things do quiet down a little after Easter. You're not competing with all the things that are happening around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays."

Could providence be at work in St. John's delaying its annual fundraising until spring? Agee isn't going that far but he notes that since the rescheduling, federal tax rebates have been announced that should arrive in mail boxes right on time to boost the spending power of many a church member.

Some churches, especially smaller ones, cope with economic crisis by keeping their expectations modest. At Sweet Union Baptist Church, a congregation in Northwest Roanoke, the increase in the 2008 budget "is going to be so small as to not be significant. We're very aware of how tight money is," said the Rev. Edward Burton.

Burton's main financial goal this year is to retire Sweet Union's $90,000 mortgage, for which there will be a special fundraising event in late October. By then, the economy may have perked up, Burton said.

The track record of congregational generosity should be of some comfort to church leaders. Per-member giving has steadily risen for decades, and the increases haven't taken a breather in this decade, even for the rocky economic period that followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The annual per-member total in 2005 -- the most recent inflation-adjusted dollar figure available -- was $697.28, up 5 percent since 2000, according to data provided by 29 major denominations as compiled by Empty Tomb, a nonprofit church research group based in Champaign, Ill. But that didn't keep pace with the 6 percent increase in per-capita disposable income during the same period.

So despite the consistent increases in the amounts given, churches' cut of per-capita disposable personal income is gradually falling, according to Empty Tomb -- to 2.58 percent in 2005 from 2.61 percent in 2000. The bottom line, said Sylvia Ronsvalle, executive vice president of the organization: "The church is losing market share."

Yet churches, while persistent in their pleas, aren't complaining about their allocation of what's in members' pockets. "Most people are doing the best they can. I think if the total contributions are up, you have to be happy with that," said Keith Beasley, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Southwest Roanoke County.

Beasley said the first effect of any actual drop-off in religious donations may be felt by church-affiliated charities, such as foreign missions and institutions for children, the ill or the elderly. "These are good causes, but the fliers keep coming in week after week," Beasley said. Such special offerings, he said, "are probably the first things that could go."

One such charity has just experienced a slight decline at First Baptist Church on Third Street Southwest in downtown Roanoke, the metro area's largest congregation with 3,300 active members and an annual budget of about $5 million. Although offerings for the church's operations are up roughly 6 percent through February, compared with the first two months of 2007, a special Christmas season collection taken every December failed to meet its goal.

Bill Ashford, associate pastor and business administrator at First Baptist, said the church fell "a little shy" of its $182,000 target to fund 5,300 Southern Baptist missionaries who work in Northern Africa and the Middle East, among other places.

Ashford said he doesn't see the missions shortfall as a major indicator of tough times for his congregation, or a warning signal that other declines in donations may loom. "I just think it says we have a lot going on at this church," he said.

And First Baptist, like many churches, isn't about to reduce its growth plans because of weakness in the overall economy. In fact, despite the assessment of First Baptist leaders last September that the economy was slowing, Ashford said, the church nevertheless raised its operating budget for 2008 by 7 percent. Such optimistic planning, he said, is an important testament to faith. "We believe God controls it all anyway."

Some other area churches are showing even more budgeting belief -- making plans for building projects. Christian Life International Church in the Glenvar area of Roanoke County unveiled plans in February for a $6.5 million expansion.

And Church of the Holy Spirit in Southwest Roanoke County is scheduled to break ground in April on a $4.6 million sanctuary.

"We have been thinking about this for four years," said the Rev. Quigg Lawrence. "We believe with all our heart we've heard from the Lord about this."

He is also heartened that members' giving hasn't slowed down so far this year. In fact, at Lawrence's church, the first two months of 2008 have registered more donations than usual for the winter season. "We'd normally be way under budget right now, but our people are committed to sacrificial giving."

An opportunity to spread the sacrifice has surfaced of late at Greene Memorial Methodist, but it hasn't been taken advantage of, to the disappointment of its finance chairman, Don Whalen. A few months ago the church started noon services on Wednesdays that are typically drawing more than 100 people each week. But no offering is asked, partly because all denominations are invited by the Rev. Gary Robbins, who arrived as pastor last year. He views the services as a form of community fellowship and thus off limits to solicitation.

Still, Whalen, a retired accountant and financial consultant, said he yearns to pass the plate, "As I bean counter, I'd like to. But as I Christian, I can't."