People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Mid-Size Churches — Part 1
A look at churches averaging 80-149 in worship attendance.
by James W. Moss, Sr.
There are two groups of churches in this category. They are: 80-99 and 100-149 in average worship attendance. This group is a very awkward size. It is neither small nor large. It has lost the intimacy of the small church as previously described and doesn't have sufficient size to offer the variety of programming that large churches can.
Mid-size churches invariably describe themselves as small churches. The average size church is 75 and the median church is an average of 55 in the Churches of God, General Conference. Participants seldom realize how large they are and consequently try to act like small churches and make serious mistakes that negatively impact their future.
Pastoral leadership becomes increasingly important as churches become larger. These churches are generally too large to have one pastor serve two churches. They are too small to have two pastors. The pastor frequently doubles as secretary for many of these churches. A few have a part-time secretary for a few hours a week. Often the secretary has limited skills and the pastor often doesn't know how to utilize a secretary to expand ministry.
The churches on a circuit in this category do so to benefit the smaller church on the circuit and see that as a missionary effort and part of their contribution to the larger work.
The facilities are generally adequate. If the building has some age, the congregation may be facing some substantial costs for basic maintenance for the building. There may be a reluctance to do more than the traditional one worship service and one Sunday school on Sunday mornings. They are frequently afraid they wont know everyone or that they might divide their congregation. However, it is not possible to know everyone even in this size church.
Almost half of the churches in this group were in a growth posture. About one quarter were plateaued and the other quarter were declining. Many of the churches that were losing ground were suffering major losses.
It takes significant pressure to grow these churches. More than the pastor can generate as a "lone ranger." Now the pastor must intentionally involve others in meaningful ministry to generate growth. The pastor must be allowed by the people to spend more time in equipping ministries so there can be help to achieve necessary ministry for people. This can be a source of conflict because the people expect the pastor to assume the shepherd mode. A second source of major conflict can occur when the culture of the pastor and that of the people and community are significantly different. It becomes significant if the pastor attempts to fight the culture.
Financial pressures aren't as great as at the smaller levels. Usually there are several families that share the load to make the ministry possible. The fact remains that 20% of the people tend to give 80% of the money. However, 20% of the people in these churches represent a significantly larger number of people and families than in small churches. The people frequently believe the church doesn't have the resources to do significant outreach ministries.
I have found three kinds of churches in this grouping. The first represents the churches dropping into the category. The second are those plateaued here. The third are those growing through the category. Self-perception and corporate self-esteem depends on the direction of the flow. These church's morale may be more susceptible and sensitive to the direction of the flow (the rise and fall of attendance) than either large or small churches.
One church had peaked near 180 in worship in the recent past. They then experienced four consecutive and significant loss years in a row. The average attendance lost 50 in that time. Tension began to build as the losses increased. A decrease in offerings accompanied the loss in attendance. A change of pastor followed. A strong program of maintenance ministry was conducted by the elders. There was little sense of direction. Discussion was held whether the nursery should be disbanded because there were no children to use the service. Survival syndrome churches tend to look at contraction as opposed to expansion as the cure for problems. A church dropping into mid-size will have a poor self-image. The people in churches with poor self-esteem stop inviting others. The flow of visitors dries up and normal attrition drives attendance downward. The story for this congregation appears to be ending on a positive note. A new pastor brought stability. The people have approached the ministry with cautious optimism. Now they are moving into a pattern of expanded ministry.
Let me define pleateaued in this manner. A church is plateaued when average worship attendance has not varied more than 10% over a period of five or more years. It takes considerable effort even to keep a church plateaued for a period of time. The plateau is followed by decline in a majority of churches. Sometimes the facilities limit the growth. Sometimes it is the capacity to creatively use the facilities that is the limiting factor. Other times it is the ministry base that causes the block. At other times it is the program of evangelism that works at bringing new people to Christ and the church. A pastor can work very hard with little growth unless the specific area of ministry building the barrier is addressed.
A church growing into mid-size frequently feels good about itself. It has a certain self-confidence and ability to act. It mimics the little engine that could, "I think I can. I think I can. I know I can." The people are positive. Two people were overheard discussing their church at a McDonald's. They were very positive as they invited a third party to attend. Giving increases. Balances begin to appear in the treasury. Programs expand. Facility needs are addressed. Visitors begin to show up. A significant number stay. Attitude is upbeat and confident. These churches believe they can and frequently overachieve. "Momentum is one reason that the numerically growing congregation tends to be more receptive to innovation, less bound by tradition, more open to maverick leaders, and more attractive to upwardly mobile persons."
Frustration builds for these churches even though they know they have many high quality ministries, they can't offer the variety of the larger churches. Lyle Schaller calls these "the awkward size churches." It is not important for them to offer vast numbers of programs. It is extremely important that everything they offer be well done.
Continue to Mid-Size Churches – Part 2
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April 9, 1999. Volume 2, Issue 5. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.