People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Mid-Size Churches — Part 2
A look at churches averaging 80-149 in worship attendance.
by James W. Moss, Sr.
Go Back to Mid-Size Churches – Part 1
Mid-size churches break into two phases:
A Transitional State––80-99
This category is a very transitional state. Churches don't tend to stay here long. The average tenure was just three years. They either grow through the category quickly or drop into the level below. Nearly half of the churches in the research sample were in this category at least once in the last 20 years. This is a nice place to visit but those who do seldom remain for long. Morale here can be very depressed if the church at this level has experienced significant decline.
All of the churches in this sample were served by full-time pastors. There can still be some financial pressure to pay the pastor at this level. The pressure will build if the church is dropping. People may withhold their funds creating additional pressure if there is genuine dissatisfaction with the pastor. Half of the pastors had a seminary education. Nearly two-thirds where under 50.
A pastor working as a "lone wolf" basically doing most of the work themselves will have a difficult time sustaining this ministry. Churches will respond to this leadership style by dropping to the "Very Comfortable" category. Others must be involved significantly in the life of the church. If that happens and the facility permits the church will quickly climb above 100.
The largest number of these churches were located in small towns and suburban areas. Churches can grow or decline anywhere. However, it needs to be recognized that areas of declining population or urban centers will make growing a church more difficult.
The churches received an average of 7 new members per year. More than half of the new members were related to people already in attendance. I was surprised this was the highest ratio of any of the 7 size categories studied. Churches declining have few new members while those growing will have a number of people visiting.
The average worship attendance was 89 with an average Sunday School attendance of 58 with an average of 10 classes. Sunday school is important for these churches. The majority of small groups in the church reside in the Sunday school.
The average offering was $1,481.52. The salary and benefits paid the pastors required 53% of the income. As the size increases the offerings do as well. Many times financial pressure results from too few people and not from a lack of giving.
Most of the facilities would permit significant growth. Most of the facilities were well cared for.
A casual observer can easily tell if a church in the category is growing or declining. It is my feeling that the morale in this category is more susceptible to variations of growth and decline than any other. I had a group of people from these churches together. Most were from churches that were declining. It was one of the most depressing experiences of my life.
Stability is Nice!––100-149
The key word for most of these churches is stability. They can hang around this neighborhood for quite a while. Many of the people are comfortable with the fact there aren’t a lot of surprises. The average tenure in the category was 8 years.
These churches were principally found in suburban areas, small towns, and developing rural communities though they could be found elsewhere. We are now talking about a size church that needs a population base to support it. The average church in this group will loose between 15-25 people annually by normal attrition. It takes significant effort on the part of a church just to cover those lost by normal attrition. That has to happen before growth can occur.
Average attendance in worship was 121 in this group. The average SS attendance was 80 with 11 classes.
These churches are much larger than the participants perceive. The average Protestant church in American averages 75 in worship on Sunday morning. The median size for worship in a congregation in the Churches of God, General Conference is 55. That means half are larger and half are smaller.
Average weekly giving was $1,957.88. It is amazing to watch the progression of offerings from level to level. The average giving per person in attendance was remarkably consistent. The increase in giving coincided with the increased attendance. Staff salaries represent 47% of income. Many consultants generally consider 45% as a maximum level for staff salaries relative to income for a healthy church.
A majority of these churches in the sample were either at or near their peak attendance. I met with a significant number of pastors and lay people from churches in this grouping. They were quite upbeat and positive. A few were at their low ebb. Several of these were dropping from much larger levels.
The pastors in these churches all served one church. They were divided almost equally between those over and those under 50 in age. The vast majority are seminary graduates.
If the goal of the pastor and people is to move to the next level of attendance, then the church must permit the pastor and the pastor must have the capacity and willingness to move from shepherd to rancher. One key to the expansion of pastoral service is the addition of a competent secretary even if on a part-time basis. A quality secretary working for 10 hours can create an additional 20 hours of time for ministry for the pastors who have been acting as their own secretary. From the Transitional State (80-99) onward, the pastor must increasingly share the leadership and ministry load as churches become larger. Truly, pastors must become equippers for ministry as opposed to being the sole deliverers of service.
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April 24, 1999. Volume 2, Issue 6. 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.