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
_ _ _
HIGHEST BAPTISM RATIOSโLARGE 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 RATIOSโMEDIUM 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 โoutside the wallsโ:
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%
_ _ _
STATES WITH MOST LARGE CHURCHES
Indiana โ 12
Kentucky โ 9
Ohio โ 9
STATES WITH THE MOST MEDIUM CHURCHES
Indiana โ 18
Kentucky โ 8
Ohio โ 8
_ _ _
OLDEST AND YOUNGEST CHURCHES REPORTINGโYEAR STARTED
Oldest Large Church: Boones Creek Christian Church, Johnson City, TNโ1825
Oldest Medium Church: First Christian Church, Monticello, KYโ1831
Youngest Large Church: Ekklesia Christian Church, Conway, SCโ2014
Youngest Medium Church: LifeSpring Community Christian Church, Harrison, OHโ2016
Author: Christian Standard
Contact us at **@********************ia.com
