8 Questions All Pastors Should Be Able To Answer About The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

As a church leader who took the CARES Act PPP loan, you’re likely receiving questions from your congregation about the details and implications. What questions do you need to have the answers to for an engaging and helpful discussion as questions and concerns come from your members? Here’s a comprehensive list of questions that you should be equipped to answer.

1. Did we take the PPP loan? Who all was involved in this decision?

2. What did we do with the PPP funds?

3. How does government stimulus including faith-based nonprofits impact separation of church and state?

The separation of church and state is one of the largest concerns surrounding the acceptance of PPP money. We had Senator Tim Scott, who helped draft the PPP, confirm that nothing was required of churches that violates convictions, independence, or the Bible. Learn more here.

4. How has taking the loan helped our church?

5. What exactly did we sign? What are we required to do by taking the loan?

6. What is our financial standing now that we’ve used all of the PPP money?

7. Is the loan fully forgiven?

8. Would our church/organization have survived without the PPP?

Interested in how your experience with the PPP differs from other churches across the country?

After spending months researching PPP and working with hundreds of Christian organizations to help walk them through the challenging application process, we ultimately reached over 275,000 people through our PPP resources. We surveyed thousands of organizations who applied for and accepted PPP loans. The responses have helped us understand how this money impacted and sustained Christian organizations across the country. Check out our summary of the themes derived from the extensive data we collected from over 800 churches and Christian organizations that responded to our survey.