18 November, 2024

2018 Fast Facts about Large and Medium Churches

Features

by | 22 June, 2019 | 0 comments

These statistics from 2018 are gleaned from large and medium church data collected by Kent Fillinger. Be sure to read Fillinger’s article, 2018 Special Church Report, Part 2: Large and Medium Churches,” and look at the accompanying tables, “The 2018 Charts: Large and Medium Churches.”

_ _ _

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

Large Churches: 691

Medium Churches: 358

Combined average weekly attendance (174 churches): 91,595

_ _ _

GROWTH RATES

Large Churches: 1.9% (down from 2.9% in 2017); overall, 52% of large churches grew (down from 56% in 2017)

Medium churches: 3.7% (up from 1.3% in 2017); overall, 60% of medium churches grew (up from 49% in 2017)

_ _ _

FASTEST-GROWING LARGE CHURCHES

Ekklesia Christian Church, Conway, SC: 53.8%

Rise City Church, Lakeside, CA: 31.8%

Northside Christian Church, Warrensburg, MO: 28.1%

_ _ _

FASTEST-GROWING MEDIUM CHURCHES

First Christian Church, Roanoke Rapids, NC: 50%

Chilhowie Christian Church, Chilhowie, VA: 32.4%

First Christian Church, Griffith, IN: 30.7%

_ _ _

BAPTISMS

Large churches baptized 3,039 people (an average of 35 baptisms per church)

Medium churches baptized 1,826 people (an average of 22 per church)

_ _ _

BAPTISM RATIOS

Number of baptisms per 100 people in average attendance:

Large churches: 5.0

Medium churches: 5.8

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HIGHEST BAPTISM RATIOS—LARGE CHURCHES

Ekklesia Christian Church, Conway, SC: 14.4

New Life Christian Church, Alexandria, MN: 11.6

The Crossing Church, Batavia, OH: 10.9

_ _ _

HIGHEST BAPTISM RATIOS—MEDIUM CHURCHES

Jessamine Christian Church, Nicholasville, KY: 34.1

Verve Church, Las Vegas, NV: 21.9

Crossroads Christian Church, Largo, FL: 13.8

_ _ _

GIVING

Average weekly per-person giving (based on general fund only):

Large churches: $32.64 (up from $32.05 in 2017)

Medium churches: $32.06 (up from $31.11 in 2017)

_ _ _

OUTREACH GIVING

Percentage of total budget spent on ministry “outside the walls”:

Large churches: 13.9%

Medium churches: 15.1%

_ _ _

BUDGETED FOR STAFFS

Percentage of total budget invested on ministry staff:

Large churches: 45.6%

Medium churches: 49.1%

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STATES WITH MOST LARGE CHURCHES

Indiana — 12

Kentucky — 9

Ohio — 9

STATES WITH THE MOST MEDIUM CHURCHES

Indiana — 18

Kentucky — 8

Ohio — 8

_ _ _

OLDEST AND YOUNGEST CHURCHES REPORTING—YEAR STARTED

Oldest Large Church: Boones Creek Christian Church, Johnson City, TN—1825

Oldest Medium Church: First Christian Church, Monticello, KY—1831

Youngest Large Church: Ekklesia Christian Church, Conway, SC—2014

Youngest Medium Church: LifeSpring Community Christian Church, Harrison, OH—2016

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