I recently read the following from a post by Thom Rainer:
65 percent of churches are declining or plateaued. For most
of us, that number was better than the conventional “wisdom” we have heard. In
that sense it was good news.
Over 61 percent of churches average fewer than 100 in
worship attendance. Yes, we are a nation of small churches. I love it. I love
small churches.
But if your church has fewer than 100 in worship, it is
likely to be a declining church. In fact two out of three of these small
churches are declining.
Even more, there is a direct correlation with the rate of
decline in a church and the size of the church. Simply stated, the smaller the
church, the greater the rate of decline in attendance. Perhaps these three
statements will clarify my point:
- A
declining church with an attendance of 200 or more declines at a rate of 4
percent each year.
- A
declining church with an attendance of less than 100 declines at a rate of
7.6 percent per year.
- A
declining church with an attendance of less than 50 declines at a rate of
8.7 percent a year.
It’s a death spiral. Declining smaller churches decline
much more rapidly than larger churches. Once the declining church goes below
100 in attendance, its days are likely numbered.
Here is the sad summary statement of this portion of the
research: Once a church declines below 100 in worship attendance, it is
likely to die within just a few years. The life expectancy for many of
these churches is ten years or less.
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