Articles for tag: Outreach Giving

August 22, 2019

2018 SPECIAL CHURCH REPORT, PART 3: Small and Very Small Churches

By Kent E. Fillinger This is the final installment of a three-part series sharing the research findings from our annual church survey. The May issue focused on 2018 data from megachurches and emerging megachurches. The August issue covered large and medium churches, and now we conclude the series with statistics from 78 small churches and 47 very small churches. This was the second year of surveying small and very small churches, so I will include some year-to-year comparisons, while acknowledging more data is necessary before identifying trends. Statistical Snapshot Small and very small churches had the slowest growth rates of

June 22, 2019

Kent E. Fillinger

Church & Ministry Church Growth

2018 SPECIAL CHURCH REPORT, PART 2: Large and Medium Churches

By Kent Fillinger This is the second installment of a three-part series sharing research findings from our annual church survey. This month, we turn our attention to 88 large churches (average weekly worship attendance of 500 to 999 during 2018) and 86 medium churches (average attendance of 250 to 499). Growth Flip-Flop The medium churches on average grew at almost twice the rate of large churches in 2018 (3.7 percent compared to 1.9 percent, respectively). This was the first-time since 2009 that medium churches we surveyed grew faster than large churches. This flip-flop partially resulted from medium churches having their

May 11, 2013

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

One Life at a Time

By Kent E. Fillinger Ralph Mehrens served as senior minister at Calvary Christian Church in Bellevue, Nebraska, for 25 years. Mehrens wanted to transition well, so he planned a 15-month succession process and laid a strong foundation to help the congregation follow the next minister. Scott Beckenhauer transitioned from an eight-year youth ministry with the church to the lead minister position in 2008. “I knew the church family and they knew me, so the trust was already built,” said Beckenhauer, who became only the third lead minister in Calvary”s 42-year history. Attendance declined slightly as Beckenhauer gained his footing the

September 15, 2010

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Measuring Growth at Medium-sized Churches

Kent E. Fillinger Some readers may wonder why there is an entire issue devoted to medium-sized churches with an average worship attendance of 250-499. This special issue featuring medium-sized churches reports on far fewer congregations than we had anticipated. There are obviously more than 32 Christian churches/churches of Christ that fit into the medium-sized church category. We hope to include many more of them in next year”s report! Despite its small sample size, this report still provides a one-of-a-kind, detailed snapshot of medium-sized churches that will serve as a sound starting point to develop in the future. If you are