Nine out of ten.
That’s a lot.
Nine out of ten churches in America have an average worship attendance of less than 350. And that percentage has not changed significantly for many years. Yet the unchurched pool of persons is increasing in most communities. There are people yet to be reached.
But most churches will never exceed 350 in attendance. Why?
A Few Caveats
Allow me to preface my analysis. First, big is not necessarily better. A church with more people in attendance is not necessarily more faithful than a smaller church. Second, some churches are in very sparsely populated areas. There may not be 350 people in a five-mile radius (though every community still has people who need to be reached).
My third caveat is key. I believe leadership is indeed a biblical and theological issue. It’s really a matter of healthy stewardship. I offer this third caveat because I will be addressing the issue of leadership in this post.
Attendance Levels of Churches in America
We are a nation and continent of smaller churches. And though we have far more small churches than large churches, there is a big migration of people from smaller to larger churches. In other words, many of the smaller churches are getting smaller, and many of the larger churches are getting larger.
Here is a simple depiction of the number of churches at three different levels:
- 50% of all churches in America average less than 100 in worship attendance.
- 40% of all churches in America average between 100 and 350 in attendance.
- 10% of all churches in America average more than 350 in attendance.
Keep in mind that the upper 10% tend to include more of the growing churches, while the lower 90% tend to include more of the declining churches.
One of the Key Reasons
There is no single reason to explain the apparent ceiling of 350 in attendance of most churches. I do believe, however, that there is a major reason for this barrier. Such is the thesis of this post:
One of the key reasons most churches do not move beyond 350 in average worship attendance is they do not have sufficient leadership and structures in place.
Many smart people have provided analyses of what is commonly known as the 200 barrier. I believe that the 200 barrier is highly elastic. In other words, the barrier is really somewhere between 150 and 350, depending on a number of circumstances. Again, I believe that the key reason stated above is among the greatest inhibitors of growth.
Increasing Organizational Complexity
Moses was an unintended victim of organizational complexity. He was trying the Lone Ranger approach to the leadership of Israel. The nation would implode and he would lose his leadership authority if he kept doing what he was doing.
His father-in-law, Jethro, saw the flaws of his leadership and said:
“What you’re doing is not good . . . You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone” (Exodus 18:17-18, HCSB).
So, following Jethro’s advice and wisdom, Moses became a different kind of leader with a different kind of organization.
Here are the five major levels of organizational complexity in churches according to average worship attendance:
- Under 100: Family and friends
- 100 to 250: Basic
- 251 to 350: Challenging
- 351 to 750: Complex
- Above 750: Highly complex
Most churches cannot or are not willing to make the types of changes that are necessary in complex organizations. In future resources, I will share what many leaders and churches are doing to move beyond the 100, 250, and 350 ceilings. In the meantime, let me hear from you.
Posted on March 25, 2015
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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128 Comments
Apologies for the many typos in that comment (including my name :))
I think the weight in these posts is too much behind leadership and organizational structure, and not enough behind societal, location, and spiritual factors. I appreciated the first two paragraphs that referenced this, . . .but I just don’t think that churches stall MOST of the time because more structure is needed. Allow me to place one vote in the “we have too much structure in the church” column. I think we’re so far in the other direction in the American church and it’s not close. Pastors need to be meeting with people, developing other elder/shepherds to meet and connect with people, and multiplying groups for those people to connect. What we don’t need it complex church programs such as kids/youth/welcome ministry that can’t be staffed and are run poorly. If they can’t be staffed well. . . don’t do them, (or do them differently). Less structure, less programming. . more shepherding and community. If your church is only at 150 doing those things, help plant another church in the next town and do the same thing there. . . . .
Dr. Rainer this is an awesome teaser. I look forward to hearing more.
Coming soon . . .
Isn’t it possible that some of these churches are planting other churches that would keep their numbers down?
The handful of people who always volunteer is the place to look for leadership. Those are the people who are anxious to serve, who have servants’ hearts even when they’re tired. Those are the people setting the example. A servant is not always a leader, but there’s a good chance a lot of those people have leadership potential if anyone would work with them. One question I don’t see here (maybe I missed it) is whether a pastor and his family w-a-n-t to grow beyond a family structure. Whether a pastor–and their spouse–are willing to trust others to lead in different areas. Whether a pastor–and spouse–are willing to give a little slack to volunteer leaders, or if others in the church (really paid or volunteer) can only implement exactly the way the pastor (or spouse) wants things done. We’ve had less experience with small groups in congregations always calling the shots, and more with pastors and spouses who couldn’t share their control. One pastor told me once that it never worked for him to have an associate pastor, as though the associates were always the problem. Really? A church can’t grow when paid staff or congregants with leadership ability are ignored, or misused, to maintain whatever it is that the pastor and spouse can’t let go of. See Barna’s book Revolution….
My question is, what do you do when you have a small church with an unnecessarily complex structure? Part of the problem in the church I’m now pastor of is that there some ministry structures in place that are completely unnecessary and unhelpful for a church our size. Is it better to break these down, or to leave them alone and focus on other areas?
One reason I did not see on the list is that congregations eventually reach capacity for their facility. A building will only accommodate just so many people and allow them to function comfortably. Beyond capacity people begin feeling cramped and the level of comfort concerning their personal space being challenged. I know of people who have left churches complaining that the building feels crowded.
Secondly, and I believe its already been touched on: larger congregations require even more workers which brings us again to the age old problem that plagues most churches today, and that is getting people to volunteer is like pulling teeth.
Our small church of 200 just had its paid custodian resign and in order to save money the church decided to keep the facility clean by using member volunteers. You can probably guess where I am going with this….and you would be right. We created monthly sign up sheets so members could sign up for a 30 day turn at completing a small cleaning task within the building. Initially about 10 members filled all the slots of responsibility on the list. Sadly….we are now several months into this method and I notice that the same 10 people have been signing up every month since this plan was instituted. Each month there are public announcements made requesting volunteers for the next month. I asked why the same people are signing up from month-to-month and was told its because nobody else will sign up. In scanning the list I notice that these same 10 people are people that are already up to their eyeballs in responsibility around the church. They see that folks are not volunteering so they go ahead and sign up for something else that needs to be done around the church.
For folks that are in leadership this is probably the singe most aggravating issue of church life that makes leaders just pull their hair out. Every body wants this and they want that in the way of programs that they can enjoy and offer to the public but nobody wants to do the work. A small church that offers no nursery facility or youth programs because no one will volunteer cannot offer these programs to new people seeking a church. No nursery or youth programs means people will most likely go down the road to a church that does.
In my opinion this is the one of the greatest factor that will keep a church small. A church will only grow to the level of its volunteerism.
Thank, Hal.
Can you then write about moving past 750?
Yes, I will.
Great post and can’t wait for the followup. I pastor a church in North Saint Petersburg Fl not to far from Azalea. Within 3 miles we have over 100,00 people yet we are unable to break the 50 mark. You heard right 50. You nailed it on the head with insufficient leadership. I am the only paid staff. I have been here for almost 9 years. Sad I know. The leaders that come our way tend to have control issues and do things publicly and privately to undermine the ministry. Had everyone stayed that I have baptized or have joined and left we would have to have two services and our auditorium holds…you guessed it 350. Is there a way to overcome this? I have gone to our association and pastors of the larger churches and they have no answer. Also most of the smaller churches here are having the same problem. Very Frustrated!
Love the area, Skip. I hope to have some more info soon.
Tom; Looking forward to hearing more. I was asked recently if I money were no object what would I do. My answer; I would hire a full staff of trained ministers, Music, Outreach, Students, Children… On Wednesday nights the first thing we pray for is trained leadership. I’m still praying. 🙂
Thank you so much for your posts Thom! To me they are vital bits of wisdom and information that help sharpen and develop me as a leader.
The church in which I serve (as Assistant/Student Pastor) is definitely in the Family & Friends category. Our obstacle and hinderance in growth I believe rests in what you have previously called a “power group” of laypeople. In my opinion this group struggles (unbeknownst to them of course) with the spirit of Absalom and all that accompanies that spirit. I am doing everything that I know (in prayer and leadership) to guide them in armor bearing for our head pastor and to rally around him and his vision.
So in response to your post, I believe that power groups can be a large hinderance to the church’s growth past these plateaus .
Secondly, would you happen to have any thoughts or book references that could assist me further as a mere support pastor?
Carl –
There is no such thing as a “mere” support pastor. Your ministry is invaluable. Though the book is 10 years old, I still recommend “Leading from the Second Chair.”
Thank you! I ordered the book today and am looking forward to it!
Dr. Rainer, might there be a correlation and/or causation that a church at the 350 member mark might not be able to afford the leadership needed?
Possibly, Mark. The corollary is that we might need to discover better ways to train and equip leaders in those churches. Your observation is astute.
What is the breakdown by age of the 350 people? How much pastoral care is involved? Can lay people be used? If your average age is young, then you will definitely need a different type of personnel than if the average age is skewing older.
I am a student pastor at a church that is about 12 years old and to my knowledge we’ve never broken the 350 barrier consistently. Over the past 4 months we have seen steady growth in our Sunday morning experiences. And I believe it is all due to the changing of how people here are treated. We’ve began to apply the V.A.B. principle. (Value people, Appreciate them, Make known that they BELONG) That may seem like a small change and I’m sure most of you are thinking…well of course you should do that dummy. But think about it…do we really apply this principle to our ministries? Do people really know how we feel about them and their families. Or are they just a number that will help us break the 350 barrier. If your church doesn’t make people feel Valued, Appreciated, or at Home (Or Belong), they will find a church that does.
Good stuff. Thanks, Tony.