2007 Shows Definitive Global Growth---Survey Report: Part 3 PDF Print Email
by Kelcy Hahn-- www.missionmemo.org  -  Sunday, 04 May 2008
Leadership >> Church Surveys

 

Starting In 2005, an increasing percentage of churches reported growth. There was another slight increase in churches growing in 2006. But in 2007 we see a definite increase in both the overall number and percentage of churches reporting year-on-year growth.

This is part three of a five part report published in cooperation with www.missionmemo.org Click here to see other reports: Church Surveys Or just use our Google search feature in the upper right corner.

In 2005 we saw the first signs of reversal in another disturbing trend. From 1998-2005, the percentage of churches reporting no growth or losses grew. In other words, it wasn’t just that total church membership was growing far more slowly leading up to 2002. Increasingly, individual churches themselves were simply not growing, or were losing members, well before 2002.

In 2005, for the first year since 1998, an increasing percentage of churches reported growing. There was another slight increase in churches reporting growth in 2006. But in 2007 we see a definite increase in both the overall number and percentage of churches reporting year-on-year growth.

 

This ratio of growing to non-growing churches is perhaps more helpful to understanding what is really happening in the church in terms of growth than is the overall growth rate itself. The growing to non-growing church ratio is something of a leading indicator of future overall growth or decline, since a few large, fast-growing churches can mask underlying declines in a greater number of small, newly planted, or struggling older congregations—but only for a time.
Taken together with the above analysis of our changing rates of growth, there is little doubt that the trend leading up to the events of 2003 had been in place for many years. Just as the steady increase in the ratio of declining churches was the handwriting on the wall of an imminent overall decline, the current clear increase in this ratio indicates a broadening base of healthy churches.
Despite an overall estimated increase in 2007 membership, the survey shows that a majority of churches still are either not growing or are losing members.
Besides the obvious solution of strengthening stagnant or declining churches, the best long-term strategy for maintaining a positive growing to non-growing church ratio is aggressive new church planting: young, small churches consistently grow more than older, larger churches. (See Natural Church Development: "Thus, we can conclude that the evangelistic effectiveness of minichurches is statistically 1,600 percent greater than that of megachurches!")

Next, Part 4: The Task Ahead

posted by Jerry Maday
Last Updated:   Saturday, 10 May 2008
 
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