How do denominational cutbacks impact their churches?

I want to ask some questions in today's post and hope to get some responses from my readers.  Many denominations and judicatories are having to cut back on their staff and programming due to funding issues.  Some denominations have combined judicatories while others reduce their staff.  My questions have to do with how that is impacting their churches.

• How would you compare the ministry support you received from your judicatory five years ago to what you are receiving today?
• How often do you see or hear from your judicatory and/or denominational minister?  Has that changed in the past five years?
• What assistance or resources did your judicatory or denominational provide you five years ago that they no longer offer?
• What do you wish your judicatory or denomination would do to assist your church's ministry that it is not currently doing?
• How does your church feel about its relationship with your judicatory or denomination?  Has that relationship changed in the past five years?
• What is your judicatory or denomination currently doing to assist bivocational ministers?
• Has your church increased or reduced its financial support of its judicatory or denomination in the past five years?  By how much?
• What do you wish I had asked regarding this issue? 

Many denominations expect to see continued cutbacks in personnel in the foreseeable future, so these are important questions that they need to consider.  As a judicatory leader myself I believe these questions must be answered as we look at how judicatory staff are utilized and resources are developed.  One of my concerns is that too often we fail to ask the local church, the very ones we are supporting, these questions and make decisions that may not be the best for our churches.  That is why I devoted this post to asking these questions, and I am really hoping to get responses from a variety of my readers.