New research study says, "If your church can change, it can grow."

by Ken Howard

Faith Communities Today (FACT) recently released a new report based on its 2010 Faith Communities Today research study. Entitled FACTs on Growth: 2010, the study describes the conditions which seem most associated with church growth. A link to the study, which is worth a close read, is posted on our website under the Church Vitality Research tab. Faith Communities Today is a series of ongoing surveys and reports about congregational life, conducted and published by the Cooperative Congregations Studies Partnership, a multi-faith group of religious researchers and faith leaders including The Episcopal Church. FACTs on Growth: 2010 Prepared by C. Kirk Hadaway, Church Officer for Congregational Research at The Episcopal Church, FACTs on Growth finds that churches that are more like to experience growth are spiritually vital and alive, have strong, permanent leadership, enjoy joyful, innovative and inspirational worship, have multiple worship services, and a clear sense of mission and purpose. Another growth factor is being located in the South, but unless you want to change dioceses, there's nothing you can do about that. The clear message of the FACTs on Growth: 2010 report is that in today's environment of rapidly changing demographics and shifting paradigms, church growth and decline are primarily dependent upon a congregation’s internal culture, program and leadership, and therefore a congregation’s own ability to change and adapt to the changes around it without losing its core vision and values. Among the findings in the report: Location. Congregations located in downtown or central city areas are more likely to experience growth than congregations in other locations, followed by those in newer suburbs (in previous studies, newer suburbs grew faster). Churches in older suburbs are least likely to grow. Age of Congregation. Younger congregations, those started since 1992, are most likely to grow. Demographics. Growth in predominantly white congregations is less likely, in part because this population has zero growth demographically. The members tend to be older and less likely to have innovative or contemporary worship services. Vitality, Vision, & Mission. There is a clear correlation between growth and the sense that a congregation is spiritually vital and alive along with a clear mission and purpose. Openness to Change. Congregations that are willing to change to meet new challenges are much more likely to experience growth than those who are resistant to change. As above, a clear mission and purpose help keep change appropriate and on track. Number of Services. Congregations with three or more services on a typical weekend are more likely to have grown, though it is unclear whether the grew because they have more services or grew first then add services (more research is necessary to determine the direction of causation). Joyful Worship. Congregations whose worship services are considered joyful are more likely to experience substantial growth. Children in Worship. Congregations that involve children in worship were more likely to experience substantial growth. Members Who Invite New People. Congregations whose members are heavily involved in recruiting new people have a definite growth advantage. Clergy involvement in evangelism and recruitment is also helpful. Visitor Follow-Up. Congregations that use multiple methods to make follow-up contacts with visitors are more likely to grow. Special Events & Programs. Congregations that regularly invest in special events or programs to attract people from the community are more likely to experience growth. Program Variety. The programs that were found to produce the strongest link to growth were: (1) young adult activities (2) parenting or marriage enrichment activities and (3) prayer or meditation groups. Other programs related to growth included Sunday school, Scripture study, fellowship, retreats, youth programs, team sports, and community service. No type of program was found to work against growth. The key seems to be that the programs are intentionally designed to respond to identified needs. Age of Leaders. Younger leaders are more associated with growth than older leaders, though the leadership age range most associated with growth was 35 to 39. Unique Congregational Charism. Congregations that saw themselves as not that different from other congregations in their area tended to decline.