MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

NEW STUDY: Interesting Statistics on Church Growth

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Tue, January 09, 2007
Viewed 280
(7) comments so far

* Congregations that change worship format and style are more likely to grow. More than half the congregations that use contemporary styles of worship have experienced substantial growth since 2000. Frequency is important as well: The more worship services a congregation holds, the more likely it is to have grown.

* Congregations located in new suburbs are more likely to experience growth. But surprisingly the second best area for growth is the downtown of metropolitan areas.

* Congregations that have experienced major conflict are quite likely to have declined in attendance. The strongest correlate of growth is the absence of serious conflict.

* Congregations that have started or maintained a website in the past year are most likely to grow. The effort to have a website indicates that the congregation is outward looking and willing to change by non-traditional means.

* While most congregations in America are composed of a single racial/ethnic group, those that are multi-racial are most likely to have experienced strong growth in worship attendance.

* More important than theological orientation is the religious character of the congregation and clarity of mission and purpose. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about what they are to be doing – “purpose-driven growth.”

* Congregations that involve children in worship are more likely to experience significant growth. Also, important to growth is the ability of congregations to attract young adults and children with families.

* Almost all congregations say they want to grow, but it takes intentionality and action for growth to occur. Congregations that developed a plan to recruit members in the last year were more likely to grow than congregations that had not. Particularly helpful in achieving growth are sponsorship of a program or event to attract non-members or the existence of support groups.

You can read the whole thing here. The report was written by C. Kirk Hadaway, Director of Research at the Episcopal Church Center in New York.

TAGS: Church Growth, Church Leadership

There is a new report out written by C. Kirk Hadaway, the Director of Research at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. It's an interesting read, as they look at why/how churches are growing. Here are some the conclusions, courtesy of the Timotheos Prologizes blog...

Comments

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drbob on Tue, January 09, 2007

Duh!!! No wonder the Episcopal Church is floundering. Its not just a formula “If you do these things” its the power of God in worship and lifestyle; sticking to biblical truths and not giving in to socially accepted sins. You can have contemporary worship and still decline, you can move to the suburbs, have a website, and still be dead. *6 comes closest to the reality of why churches grow, the rest is just clanging symbols if we don’t love the Lord and our neighbors.
David B. on Tue, January 09, 2007

So let me see if I have this straight:

Changing Worship Styles = Good Growth

Lack of Conflict = Best Growth

Doesn’t this ignore the reality that changing worship styles almost always leads to conflict? Even Rick Warren admits that style change is going to cause problems at first.
Rev JEFF on Tue, January 09, 2007

IT seems to me that they have listed the results of growth… ie more services… and tried to say that these are the causes of growth.

I disagree with the lack of conflict idea… a lack of conflict would mean that a church has not thought any different or new thoughts for quite some time. Instead, I would submit that a Biblical handling of conflict causes growth.
Randy Ehle on Tue, January 09, 2007

Like Rev Jeff, it seems to me that this is a descriptive list, not prescriptive; i.e., they have noted observations about churches that have grown, rather than drawn conclusions about what caused the growth in the first place. A couple of these are pretty obvious, too: if you are growing, of course you’re going to have to add services at some point, the only option being to add capacity (i.e., building). Unfortunately, such observations are not very helpful…and could even be damaging in the hands of someone who takes the observations and tries to make them prescriptive. Can you imagine the pastor of a stagnant church reading this and deciding that to grow, he just needs to change the worship style and add a couple services? Now he’ll have conflict (over the changes) and multiple empty services…not to mention burned out leaders who are “serving” those empty sanctuaries.
bishopdave on Tue, January 09, 2007

“Doesn’t this ignore the reality that changing worship styles almost always leads to conflict?’

Interesting point. What about this—as I look at our church situation, and see that in order to grow change needs to come (I still believe Henry Blackaby—“You can’t go with God and stay where you’re at”), conflict is inevitable. We changed the weekly newsletter format, and the phone rang off the hook!

Perhaps, once the “war” over whatever change is over how we handle it from there is where the growth comes from. I think most would agree that a church that is comfortable and thereby “peaceful” might not be very effective.

Faith leads to risk (Hebrews 11). United in faith, assuming the risk together—yes, that’s a unified, vibrant body. Probably growing, too.
Joe Myers on Tue, January 09, 2007

We plant the seed but it is God that causes it to grow - 1 Cor 3:6. Some conflict is necessary and those that leave over issues that are not necessary after you have been patient to understand their position and kind in explaining the change, then say “Don’t let the door hit you on your way out”. On necessary conflicts (over false doctrine, sin, and some philosophy of ministry issues) if church leadership handles the issue biblically then you may lose some but will gain all the more. Finally, you can’t please everyone.

Lead by doing and not lording and don’t look back. Remember if you have truly sought the Lord’s face on the issue before the decision then your basis for doing it is grounded well. But if you really have your own agenda and jump at the change then you are going to be blowing in the wind at every fashionable Christian ministry etc. Unfortunately, we are a society that thinks conflict is bad and are not some of these church growth ministries pounding that into us (signing covenant agreements to support Purpose-Driven Life, etc.). This might be why young pastors are dropping out - they have been trained to be results driven not called driven. And many Christians are going from the latest fad church to the latest fad church. I saw this in a church that launched and was doing all these latest church growth things and then most of the young members went off to the latest and greatest church. What shallowness in people’s relationship with God and in our church’s leadership of the flock!
Larry on Mon, January 15, 2007

I have a problem that I cannot see through. I have been attending a large church in Orlando for about sixteen years and have been an usher captain for most of that time. My problem is that in fifteen years, I have witnessed the attendance count, and we never seem to get more than fifteen to eighteen hundred persons to Suday services that seat 5000. Thye leadership has tried thing as advertising, on the christian radio stations, (I don’t think the lost people listen to the christian stations). They also call the visitors each week and extend the welcom e and hope they come back. But I have yet, to see a personnel visit made to that person as we did in the (old Days) We have a great pastor and a television ministry. But why is there only an attendance increase on Chhristmas and Easter Sundays? I look forward to your comments.