Podcast Episode #456
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Tony Morgan joins us to discuss statistical trends he’s finding in churches today and what those trends can mean for your church in the future.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- Churches shouldn’t settle when it comes to attendance, but try to get members to become more regularly engaged.
- Building a bigger building might not the best way for your church to reach more people.
- Churches are starting to engage students as volunteers in ministry and seeing them connect better to the church as a result.
- When your church starts to track different metrics, it forces discussions on intentionality of service and evangelism.
The nine statistical insights we discuss are:
- Churches are averaging 1.7% YOY attendance growth
- 18% of churches are multisite
- 45% of the congregation are serving monthly
- Average baptism rate is 6.4% (16:1 ratio)
- 60% of congregation are involved in groups
- Per capita giving is 47%
- 50% of budget is for staffing
- 1:61 staff to attendance ratio
- 56% of church staff are part time
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Becoming a Welcoming Church.
I’m curious. Do you have a statistic on:
How many staff people (including preachers) are training other Christians in how to effectively do personal evangelism?
How many staff people actually lead people to Jesus outside of the church campus? Are they doing any effective personal evangelism?
John Hendee
Chair of World Evangelism, Hope International University
john.hendee@cox.net
John, if you really want to teach people how to do relational evangelism, you need a website. Posting an email is pointless. I’m not emailing you, but I would look at a website.
Two questions from the audio:
1- It was not made clear what “47% per capita giving” means. Does that mean 47% gave something during the month?
2- I am not so sure about overly using “students” to help with younger children. How do you address safety concerns? Believe it or not, there are budding child abusers in our student ministries. You have to keep a tight oversight at a minimum. What are best practices to safely use teens to help with younger kids?
Mark,
I oversee our children’s ministry, and incorporate teens serving with each age group from nursery to elementary. Our keys are 1) training 2) adult partnership. We keep at minimum a 1:1 ratio of adult to teen on serving teams, and usually it is 2 adults per every teen serving in a room on a team.
Our teens stay well-connected with those in older and younger generations this way. Adults get to know and appreciate teens, calling out their strengths and develop hearts to pray for these teens. Meanwhile, teens grow into a sense of ownership and accountability when they have to show up on time, on the right day, and engage with those much younger than them. It builds character and grows their understanding of the church.
Sara, thanks for your input. The info on adults/student ratios in serving is very helpful. I’m curious if the teens in your ministry go through the same screening process as adults? How do you determine if a teen is fit to serve, even with adult oversight?
Mark, you make a very valid point regarding the peer on peer abuse – from what I’ve read it’s a growing issue. It’s nice to know someone is thinking about it and raising the concern.
I listened again, and I think they do not mean 47%, I think they mean $47 per person. But is that per week?
In our church, most children’s and preschool groups have 2 adults volunteers at all times who have been background checked. The youth group are very involved volunteering with the preschool and children’s groups. Youth are not allowed to be be with the young ones unsupervised by an adult. I can attest that what Sara says is correct. It is as beneficial for them as it is for the children especially if they are able to use their talents! This is discipleship and evangelism training for the Youth! They volunteer and do become very active in the whole church, not just youth group. Generally speaking, you are unlikely to find anything on a background check, especially for youth volunteers. But, this is why a two adult system is in place. It protects everyone.
What is YOY?
Year Over Year?
Year Over Year compares this year’s numbers to last year’s.
Dr. Rainer, you noted that Churches are averaging 1.7% YOY attendance growth. What metric do you use to consider a church a “growing” church? And why have you chosen that metric? I’m writing my dissertation on revitalization and find that there is no established criteria such as a YOY percentage to measure church growth. I’d like your take on it. Thanks!
Jerry –
This information is not my own. It is an interview with Tony Morgan. You can contact him for more specifics.
Year Over Year
Per cap = per capita = per each person (“each head”); e.g., $32 per cap per week = “$32 given by each person attending, each week, on the average” (a metric important for those who “speak the language of money” in the church–or for church leaders who want to project the congregation’s total annual revenues, say if the church indeed increased in attendance YOY for the next three years (easy to calculate; harder to get from a less-engaged congregation!).
Even if the stats are true overall currently, that doesn’t mean they are true in the setting of each local church. Running the same stats for each congregation can be done, and then used as a baseline for comparison as the church works its intentional, strategic, relational plan for reaching the city and growing the church, to the glory of God. Doing so can reveal parts of that plan working best or not as well (then, redirect sources).
If you do not know where you are right now–and do not know a way to find out–then you never can go where you really want to go instead. Analytics/Diagnostics are important to change management.
David, fine, but the article does not have a $ sign, it says %. It says “per capita giving is 47%,” which is nonsensical. There is also no explanation of the number in the written post or the audio.
Mark: You’re right :-))
One thought concerning churches using part time staff
widely. As a pastor who has been considered both at different times in the same church, I get the excitement about good stewardship. I must add though the lack of benefits which often come with being part time present some serious challenges, especially if you have a family. Not sure what the answer is, but I would encourage churches to be careful they are not adding pressure where it doesn’t need to be, just for the sake of saving money.
The 1:61 staff ratio…does that include all staff, including part-time (such as paid nursery workers or organist)? Or is it only full-time office and pastoral staff? Thanks!
Our family has been members of several denominations. It has been our experience that pastoral and/or lay leadership is often controlled by a few friends or families in its congregation–but not always. Many leaders do not like using facts and figures (statistics or metrics) since placing that information before the congregation makes the leadership accountable. Usually, the reporting is just the numbers with no basis of comparison. Leaders and most congregants like stability and resist change as that is inherently unstable. In addition, certain prejudices are almost always (in varying degrees) in play; i.e., cultural, ethic, racial, or social status. Once the above issues are perceived (although not all will), people will leave the church.