Articles for tag: Kent Fillinger

Worship Worship & Prayer

Does Your Church’s Worship Style Matter?

By Kent E. Fillinger Worship music is a key part of a church’s overall worship experience, and a church’s style of worship remains a key differentiator, even as the “worship wars” of the 1980s and 1990s have subsided. Research shows that worship or music isn’t a priority for people in choosing to attend a church or in deciding whether to remain at a church (see my article “What Are Your Church’s Push and Pull Factors? Part 2” from March). Still, music remains one of the most talked about elements of a worship service. I wanted to learn more about worship

July 14, 2018

Knowing Where You’re Going Pays Off

By Kent Fillinger I love quotes and short sayings. A favorite of mine is, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there,” from Lewis Carroll, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger adapted it slightly as, “If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.” But the best mutation of the saying comes from baseball icon (and celebrated linguist) Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Regardless of which version you prefer, here’s the point:

July 6, 2018

2017 Fast Facts about Small Churches and Very Small Churches

AVERAGE SIZE Small churches: 174 Very Small churches: 60 Combined average weekly attendance (128 churches): 16,469 GROWTH RATES Small churches: -0.3 percent; overall, 36 percent of the small churches grew. Very Small churches: 5.5 percent; overall, 44 percent of very small churches grew. FASTEST-GROWING SMALL CHURCHES Cornerstone Christian Church, Springfield, KY, 65.5 percent Westside Christian Church, Bradenton, FL, 15.5 percent Ridgeview Christian Church, Rolla, MO, 14.6 percent FASTEST-GROWING VERY SMALL CHURCHES Creekside Community Church, Hot Springs, AR, 51.7 percent New Hope Christian Church, Belton, MO, 51.1 percent Restoration Christian Church, Rogersville, MO, 40 percent BAPTISMS Small churches baptized 800 people (an average

July 6, 2018

The 2017 Charts: Small Churches and Very Small Churches

Our annual listing of churches is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s most popular features. This year scores of churches participated, including 77 small churches (average weekly worship attendance of 100 to 249 during 2017) and 51 very small churches (attendance of fewer than 100). In May we featured an article and statistics from 55 megachurches (2,000 or more in weekly attendance) and 72 emerging megachurches (1,000 to 1,999). In June we spotlighted 91 large churches (500 to 999 in weekly attendance) and 83 medium churches (250 to 499). Click here to view and download 2017 Charts3, with data from small churches and

July 5, 2018

Special Church Report Part 3: Small and Very Small Churches

By Kent Fillinger This is the final installment in a trilogy of articles from our annual church survey. If you missed the updates on megachurches and emerging megachurches from May and large and medium churches from June, I suggest you backtrack and read those articles—and view those charts—as well. For the first time, our survey included churches with attendances of fewer than 250. We received responses from 77 small churches (average weekly worship attendance of 100 to 249) and 51 very small churches (attendance of fewer than 100). Click here to access “The 2017 Charts: Small and Very Small

June 10, 2018

Monthly Attendance: The New Norm?

By Kent E. Fillinger “Is monthly attendance the new norm?” asked the headline of a recent article by Warren Bird, director of research at Leadership Network. The trend for several years is that regular churchgoers attend less frequently. Bird said his research shows the typical church reaches 1.8 times its average weekly attendance in a month. He said the average doesn’t change much regardless of the size of the church, age of the church, or age of the lead pastor. Therefore, a typical church can determine how many different people attend each month by multiplying the average weekend worship attendance

May 22, 2018

2017 Fast Facts about Large Churches and Medium Churches

AVERAGE SIZE Large churches: 724 Medium churches: 363 Combined average weekly attendance for these 174 churches: 96,012 GROWTH RATES Large churches: 2.9 percent (down from 4.3 percent in 2016); overall, 56 percent of the large churches grew (down from 69 percent in 2016). Medium churches: 1.3 percent (down from 2.1 percent in 2016); overall, 49 percent of medium churches grew (down from 62 percent in 2016). FASTEST-GROWING LARGE CHURCHES Hope City Church, Joplin, MO, 32.5 percent The Crossing Church, Batavia, OH, 28.9 percent Restoration Park Church, Medway, OH, 26.9 percent FASTEST-GROWING MEDIUM CHURCHES CrossPointe Christian Church, Valparaiso, IN, 23.6 percent The Journey

May 18, 2018

The 2017 Charts: Large Churches and Medium Churches

Our annual listing of churches is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s most popular features. This year scores of churches participated, including 91 large churches (those with 500 to 999 in weekly attendance during 2017) and 83 medium churches (250 to 499). In May we featured an article and statistics from 55 megachurches (2,000 or more in weekly attendance) and 72 emerging megachurches (1,000 to 1,999). Come back next month for articles and charts from small (100–249) and very small churches (less than 100). Click here to view and download 2017 Charts2, with data from large churches and medium churches . . .

May 17, 2018

Special Church Report Part 2: Large and Medium Churches

By Kent Fillinger This month, the focus is on large churches (average worship attendance of 500 to 999) and medium churches (250 to 499 weekly) from our annual church survey. If you missed the May issue on megachurches and emerging megachurches, you can read it online to get caught up. Next month, I’ll conclude this series with a report on small churches (averaging 100 to 249 weekly) and very small churches (fewer than 100) and share the first-ever recorded data on these two church sizes. Here are some stats and stories that show the major themes that emerged for large

April 15, 2018

2017 Fast Facts about Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches

These statistics from 2017 are gleaned from megachurch and emerging megachurch data collected by Kent Fillinger. Be sure to read Fillinger’s article, “Special Church Report Part 1: Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches,” and look at the accompanying tables (“The 2017 Charts: Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches”). Compiled by Kent Fillinger AVERAGE SIZE Megachurches: 5,307 Emerging Megachurches: 1,366 Combined average weekly attendance: 390,218 GROWTH RATES Megachurches: 5.7% (up from 3.4% in 2016); overall, 71% of megachurches grew (up from 61% in 2016). Emerging Megachurches: 4.1% (up from 2 percent in 2016); overall, 57% of emerging megachurches grew (down from 61% in 2016).

April 14, 2018

Special Church Report Part 1: Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches

By Kent E. Fillinger This marks my 14th consecutive year of staying up late for weeks on end crunching numbers, looking for trends, and jotting down insights about our Restoration Movement churches to share with you. This year is special because it’s the first time Christian Standard opened up the annual survey to churches of every size. More than 400 churches from 39 states ranging in size from 12 to 28,216 responded to the survey, and I’m grateful for each one! I’m going to share in-depth results from the survey and analyze the data in my next few monthly articles.

April 13, 2018

The 2017 Charts: Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches

Our annual megachurch listing is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s most popular features. This year scores of churches participated, including 55 megachurches (those with 2,000 or more in weekly attendance during 2017) and 72 emerging megachurches (1,000 to 1,999). Come back next month for articles and charts from large churches (those that averaged 500999) and medium churches (250499). In two months, we will post data and have feature articles from small (100249) and very small churches (less than 100). Click here to view and download the 2017 Charts, or click on them individually. 2017 Megachurches 2017 Emerging Megachurches

March 28, 2018

Church Life

Easter and the Changing Nature of Belonging

By Kent E. Fillinger “Every modern brand that inspires intense passion—from Apple to Nike to SoulCycle to WeWork—has a spiritual underpinning,” writes Nicole LaPorte in the July/August 2017 issue of Fast Company. She tells the story of shared community, social connections, and a common purpose for those who participate in Tough Mudder obstacle course competitions. Will Dean, CEO of Tough Mudder, believes their events can provide people with these same types of spiritual rituals. Dean told the magazine, [Tough Mudder races] are the pilgrimage, the big, annual festivals, like Christmas and Easter [emphasis mine], if you use Christianity as an

March 9, 2018

What Are Your Church’s Push and Pull Factors? (Part 2)

By Kent Fillinger Last month we looked at “push” factors that cause a person to leave a church or religion. This month we look at conditions that “pull” someone into one church or faith over another. Common “Pull” Factors A LifeWay Research survey asked about 2,000 “unchurched” Americans (those who have not attended a worship service in the last six months, outside of a holiday or special occasion) what, if any, life experiences would make them more open to consider turning to the church for help. The top three life experiences (as reported in Facts & Trends, Fall 2016)

January 26, 2018

What Are Your Church’s Push and Pull Factors? (Part 1)

By Kent Fillinger My three daughters and I went to New York City for the first time last October. Our visit to Ellis Island was a definite highlight! I was amazed to learn what more than 12 million people encountered at Ellis Island. One part of the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration had the history of migration and the peopling of America. I found one display titled “Push and Pull Factors.” The sign said, “Historians talk about the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that influence migration. ‘Push’ refers to the reasons people leave one place to go to another. ‘Pull’

January 16, 2018

Money & Debt Stewardship & Generosity

2017 Ministers’ Salary Survey

By Kent Fillinger In a typical workplace, and in churches, workers don’t publicly discuss salaries and certain benefits they receive. But this trend is changing among millennials. Benefits consultant Mary Ann Sardone recently told the Wall Street Journal, “Pay and promotions are not secretive topics anymore. Companies are spending more time ensuring their pay decisions are fair and highlighting career paths under the assumption that the information is going to be widely shared.” Recent research showed “roughly one-third of U.S. workers ages 18-36 say they feel comfortable discussing pay with their co-workers, more than any other age group and about

December 12, 2017

Christian Standard Updates News & Updates

Parting Thoughts for the End of the Year

By Kent E. Fillinger I want to share three statistical thoughts that challenged me, plus a final word of encouragement, as we conclude 2017 and prepare for another year of ministry. I hope these insights cause you to stop, reflect, and dig a little deeper as you continue to lead your church. The Golfer”s Delusion Imagine the recreational golfer eyeing the green. He may have laser-guided binoculars that tell him the exact distance to the flagstick. Or he may have a GPS that indicates the precise distance to the front, middle, and back of the green. Armed with all

November 4, 2017

Mission & Evangelism

The Church and Global MissionsÂ

By Kent E. FillingerÂ With 195 countries and 7.5 billion people in the world as of April 2017, we have our work cut out for us in fulfilling Christ”s commission. Therefore, every church should have a clear global-missions strategy.Â I surveyed 148 churches in late August to gain a better understanding of the current status of global missions in our movement. The survey size was somewhat small, but the responses included a nice cross-section of churches:Â Â “¯37 small churches (average worship attendance of fewer than 250) “¯38 medium-size churches (attendance of 250″“499) “¯29 large churches (attendance of 500″“999) 22 emerging

October 17, 2017