The Negro's church,.

178

The Negro's Church

$683,856, or 28 per cent. of the amount raised, for interest
and reduction of church debt. The total amount paid for the
reduction of church debt was $375,332, slightly more than
the interest on the total indebtedness at 6 per cent. per annum.
In reality the principal was actually reduced by $375,332. If
this should happen to be the rate at which the principal is
reduced annually, it would take thirteen and one-half years
for the churches to become free from debt.
To take extreme cases, churches that owe less than $1,000
might easily clear themselves of debt within a year or two.
On the other hand, a church that owes $160,000 pays $9,600
a year for interest at the minimum rate of 6 per cent., or $800
a month, or $26.30 a day. In 1930 this particular church
paid on its indebtedness $5,000, which is less by $4,600 than
the amount needed for interest alone. In 1930 this church
spent $4,000 for repairs and upkeep. It is difficult to visualize a Negro congregation of 800 people anywhere in America
that would be able to reduce substantially each year a principal that is now $160,000. The average indebtedness per
member in this church is $200.
It is almost safe to conclude that the whole debt will not be
paid by the present membership. Twenty-five years would
be a short time allotted for the complete amortization of a
debt of such magnitude for a Negro congregation. The
amount of money paid by Negroes for churches will probably
never be known. Many churches similar to the one just described pay for years only the interest, or pay so little on the
principal that its effect in reducing the debt is almost negligible. From year to year, the principal remains almost the
same.
MIGRATION INCREASED CHURCH INDEBTEDNESS IN THE NORTH
The migration of Negroes from the South produced a crisis
in the church life of Negroes in the North. It has already
been pointed out how relatively small memberships became