LINCOLN - The coronavirus is likely to force hundreds of small churches across the country — and as many as 50 in Lincoln — to close as the pandemic endures and donations dwindle. That is the view of the Rev. Jim Keck of First-Plymouth Congregational Church.

“Small churches are going to be in real peril,” Keck said. “It can be an existential threat like a restaurant. A typical small American church is just making its bills every week. If donations fall off, a church can close, like a restaurant.”

The average Protestant church in the U.S. has an attendance of 73 people, Keck said. With, say, an annual budget of $120,000, the church can pay for its minister, a secretary and cover its operational bills. If the money collected drops to $70,000, the church would have funds for a part-time minister and to pay its bills.Falling below that amount, it would likely have to consider closing its doors, Keck said.

Those numbers are estimates and would vary from church to church and state to state. But the principle of dwindling donations against unchanging expenses will apply to all, including many Lincoln churches.

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