It's been known for years, but a recent survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors now confirms that expanding your church's ministry doesn't always mean you'll draw more people in the long-run.
According to the Cornerstone Knowledge Network study, churches that added an extra worship service or venue on their existing site saw the greatest spike in weekly attendance over a five-year period, followed by those churches who built a new ministry space on their current campus. Interestingly enough, when pastors were asked which means of expansion led to growth, only one in four pastor strongly agreed that building additional space directly equates to increased attendance.
Overall, two-thirds of all Protestant churches have expanded their ministry via such means as building additional ministry space, streaming services or teachings online, merging with another church, and adding an additional service with on- or off-site. Forty-four percent of pastors say their church has grown in the last five years by at least 10 percent, while 23 percent say its membership has declined and 33 percent say it has remained the same. Among pastors whose churches haven't been involved in ministry expansion, 34 percent report growth, 29 percent say they’ve declined and 37 percent indicate stable attendance. However, pastors from both segments estimated that almost half of all their growth has been a result of transferred memberships, while 32 percent has been from "unchurched" attendees.
"Many churches who do not take steps to expand are struggling," said Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, which conducted the study. "Pastors of churches who take the same message to more people through new methods and new media are expressing the positive impact of these steps of faith." [Baptist Press, 5/27/09]
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