These statistics from 2018 are gleaned from small and very small church data collected by Kent Fillinger. Be sure to read Fillinger’s article, “2018 Special Church Report, Part 3: Small and Very Small Churches,” and look at the accompanying tables, “The 2018 Charts: Small and Very Small Churches.”
_ _ _
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE
Small churches: 163
Very Small churches: 54
Combined average weekly attendance (125 churches): 21,701
_ _ _
GROWTH RATES
Small churches: 0.03 percent (up from -0.3 percent in 2017); overall, 38 percent of small churches grew (up from 36 percent in 2017)
Very Small churches: 1.7 percent (down from 5.5 percent in 2017); overall, 43 percent of very small churches grew (down from 44 percent in 2017)
_ _ _
FASTEST-GROWING SMALL CHURCHES
Hazelwood Christian Church, Pittsburgh, PA, 212.5 percent
First Christian Church, Mableton, GA, 28.5 percent
Reclaim Christian Church, Ansonia, CT, 22.6 percent
_ _ _
FASTEST-GROWING VERY SMALL CHURCHES
Fifth Street Church of Christ, Moultrie, GA, 68 percent
First Christian Church, Greenwood, SC, 41.2 percent
Winema Christian Church, Cloverdale, OR, 31.7 percent
_ _ _
BAPTISMS
Small churches: 699 (average 9 baptisms per church)
Very Small churches: 152 (average 3 per church)
_ _ _
BAPTISM RATIOS
(Number of baptisms per 100 people in average attendance):
Small churches: 5.5
Very Small churches: 5.1
_ _ _
HIGHEST BAPTISM RATIOS PER 100—SMALL CHURCHES
Christ’s Church, Fort Wayne, IN, 16.9
Thurston Christian Church, Springfield, OR, 15.0
Vernal Christian Church, Vernal, UT, 13.5
_ _ _
HIGHEST BAPTISM RATIOS PER 100—VERY SMALL CHURCHES
Connected Life Christian Church, Boca Raton, FL, 34.4
Peeled Oak Christian Church, Owingsville, KY, 31.4
Central Christian Church, Charleston, IL, 15.4
_ _ _
STATES WITH MOST . . .
Small churches:
Indiana — 12
Ohio — 7
Georgia & Illinois — 6 each
Very Small churches:
Virginia — 5
5 States — 4 each
_ _ _
OLDEST AND YOUNGEST CHURCHES REPORTING—YEAR STARTED
Oldest Small Church: Countryside Christian Church, Seaman, OH—1814
Oldest Very Small Church: Cool Spring Christian Church, Keysville, VA—1800
Youngest Small Church: Catalyst Church, High Point, NC—2009
Youngest Very Small Church: Movement Christian Church, Knightdale, NC—2017
_ _ _
GIVING
Average weekly per person giving (based on general fund only):
Small churches: $36.11 (up from $31.80 in 2017)
Very Small churches: $35.30 (up from $30.58 in 2017)
_ _ _
OUTREACH GIVING
Percentage of total budget spent on ministry “outside the walls”:
Small churches: 17.1 percent
Very Small churches: 16.4 percent
_ _ _
BUDGETED FOR STAFFS
Percentage of total budget invested on ministry staff:
Small churches: 49.3 percent
Very Small churches: 51.9 percent
Author: Christian Standard
Contact us at **@********************ia.com
