The Negro's church,.

172

The Negro's Church

$544,687; 11 churches raised amounts ranging from $15,000
to $20,000, a total of $186,269; 9 raised from $20,000 to
$25,000, a total of $188,032; and 11 raised more than
$25,000, making a total of $419,428.
EXPENDITURE PER MEMBER
In 1930 the expenditure of the 609 churches, which had a
reported total membership of 357,169, was approximately
$2,984,965. Therefore these urban churches averaged in
expenditure in 1930 $8.36 per member, or sixteen cents a
week for each reported member.
COMPARISONS
On the basis of the Government figures, the average Negro
urban church spent $2,738 in 1926, or $12.42 per member.
The averages in this study for 1930 are $4,901.42 per church,
or $8.36 per member. Two points by way of explanation are
necessary. It was pointed out in the chapter on membershi
that the churches of this report are more than average. It
probably holds true with respect to finance; for a few
churches raising sums in excess of $25,000 annually would
give a relatively higher average per church than the Government's report, in which a higher per cent. of churches
raising small sums are included. Furthermore, in the churches
with large memberships, though they raise more money, the
per capita expenditure tends to decrease in the excessively
large church, as will be shown later.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FEW
In view of the fact, as shown in chapter v, that the financial burden of the churches under discussion is borne by less
than half of the membership, it follows of necessity that the
financial obligation of the regular contributors is more than
doubled by the delinquency of those members who do not