Congregational giving to benevolences, which support the broader mission of the church, hit an all-time low in 2000, reported Empty Tomb, an Illinois based research organization. As a portion of church members’ incomes, giving to benevolences declined 39 percent from 0.66 percent in 1968 to 0.40 percent in 2000. Benevolences include a range of expenditures beyond the operations of the…