Owensboro—Few churches have felt the sting of this year’s economic downturn like Bellevue Baptist Church in Owensboro, which moved last October to a new building just west of the U.S. 60 bypass.

Four months into 2009, the Kentucky Baptist congregation was running 7.5 percent behind budget—and that was after slicing its original spending plan by 10 percent.

Yet Pastor Greg Faulls said he sees numerous silver linings behind the cloud.

“My people are more spiritual; they seem to complain less,” said Faulls, who has been at Bellevue for 11 years. “I don’t want to paint too rosy a picture, but I’ve seen faith emerge in my congregation.

“Most people are saying, “This is a good thing. It’s forcing us to save and forcing us to realize what matters most.’ I think God’s hand is in it.”

More than six months after the stock market started a dramatic dive, the economy remains the leading issue in the public’s consciousness.

Still, many Kentucky Baptists are not taking part in gloomy laments over the situation.

Instead, they are encouraging those who have lost jobs with such assistance as prayer, financial assistance, helping them find new jobs or offering classes to teach money management.

In addition to offering Financial Peace University—a 13-week course published by financial talk show host Dave Ramsey—Bellevue offers individual counseling.

Thanks to several members with financial management experience, over the past year Faulls has referred about eight families for private sessions.

Too often, though, even people who complete some kind of class do not follow up on their own, he said.

“They go home, lay out all their bills and get paralyzed,” Faulls noted. “They don’t know what to do. These (advisors) are good with personal finances and are passionate about … living on a budget. That’s been real helpful and takes the pressure off me.”

Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Independence is another KBC congregation offering Financial Peace, with its third class scheduled for late August.

For more immediate assistance, the congregation tries to link those who have lost jobs with members who own businesses or are involved with organizations that are hiring new employees.

It also maintains a benevolence fund and clothing closet, which sometimes distributes donations of furniture or appliances.

Bill Risher, associate pastor at the northern Kentucky church, said a primary concern expressed by members is getting out of debt, especially those who feel “overwhelmed.”

Still, with donations nearly current with the 2009 budget, Risher said the loss of jobs by some members has not dramatically affected its ministries. Instead, he said he also has seen an upsurge of interest in eternal matters.

“It has enhanced the spiritual climate of the church,” the associate pastor said. “I know of individuals who have felt support, whether through assisting them (financially), prayer or just being there for them.

“It lets people know we’re there to help them. I think it helps them in their spiritual growth, knowing they have a body of believers that are encouraging them. It helps reassure people God is in control.”

That is a timely message for Evergreen Baptist Church, located just north of Frankfort.

The country congregation has been struggling to meet its budget this year, forcing it to reduce the salary offered for the part-time youth and children’s pastor it hopes to hire soon.

Pastor Brad Hockensmith said the church recently hosted Financial Peace—with a second session planned for the fall—to help members get a stronger biblical perspective on finances.

Still, tight funds have not reduced the church’s desire to help. It has hosted special breakfasts and other fund raisers to stock its food pantry, which the pastor said has supplied numerous homes within a five-mile radius.

Like many other KBC pastors, he said he also sees spiritual benefits to the tight economy.

“If anything, it’s drawn us closer in our walk with the Lord,” Hockensmith noted. “Sometimes we don’t realize God is all we’ve got until God is all we’ve got.

“I think people outside the church have gained an appreciation for what we do and what we stand for,” he added. “They see us as a church that’s trying to make a difference and meet the needs we can. I hear comments of appreciation and gratitude for what we’re doing.”

Louisville-area First Baptist Church of Middletown had to cut this year’s budget five percent and reducing planned salary increases from three percent to less than one percent.

Pastor Jim Cobban and his staff were all nervous about what 2009 would hold. But thanks to starting the year with some reserves, a slight seasonal decline in receipts has not affected its ministries.

Expanding beyond the traditional outreach, Cobban has been using his contacts in the town’s chamber of commerce in an effort to find work for members who have been laid off.

The veteran pastor said he sees positives to the economic situation, saying it has made people more caring, particularly for those who have lost career-type jobs in recent months.

The relevance of faith and money emerged during a recent mid-week Bible study discussion, when Cobban taught on the parable in Luke 12 of the rich man who built bigger barns but then died.

“It was a good conversation,” Cobban said. “Yes, money’s important and yes, we need to be good stewards, but our calling is to be about more than money.”