This is a sample article featured in the January 2004 issue of Quadrant
For sample pages from previous issues click here
SIZE COUNTS!
Napoleon
once scorned, “
A nineteenth century economist called Pareto gave a name to this phenomenon – the “eighty-twenty principle”. The numbers are only approximate but they reflect the fact that a small number of people can wield a very large influence. In a church, 20% of the people give 80% of the money, and / or 20% of members do 80% of the work.
Wealth, charitable giving and churches
This size differential is seen in other areas also. For example the top fifth of the world’s population owns 86% of global wealth, and the bottom fifth just 1%. As Sir John Bond, chairman of HSBC says, “You cannot sustain this inequality indefinitely.”
The same kind of size variation is true of charity giving. For example, in 2002 60% of all donations were given by just 8% of donors. 12% came from 81% of the population, half of whom donated nothing.
Equally it applies to churches. For example, the
largest 15% of churches in
Roman Catholics
The Catholics have the largest congregations; 74% of those attending Mass go to the largest 50% of their churches whose average congregation is 480; the remaining 26% go to the smallest 50% with an average congregation of 170.
Anglicans
The first
pair of pie-charts gives the figures for Anglican churches. In 1998 the
largest 1% of these (350 or more adults and children) attracted 8% of the total
average Sunday congregation in
Reflect what this means: 8,000 Anglican churches, often in rural or inner city areas, have an average Sunday congregation of less than 20 people. No wonder it is hard to make them viable, especially if their church is a listed building! Smaller congregations have fewer people to do the work, often a shared minister, and frequently comprise an increasingly elderly and frail group of people. Some of these are growing, however, as members (often the more energetic, aged 65 to 74) invite their equally elderly friends and neighbours and they start (or re-start) coming to church.
The group of the very largest churches is interesting also. This 1% comprise of just 160 churches with a Sunday attendance of 350 or more:
60 of these have between 350 and 399,
80 of these are between 400 and 699,
10 are between 700 and 999, and
10 have Sunday congregations of 1,000 or more, spread across several services.
|
|
|
|
Free churches
The average free church congregation is half as big as the average Anglican. So, as the second pair of pie-charts shows, 3% of free churches have congregations in excess of 350, and collectively these accounted for a sixth, 17%, of all free church Sunday congregations in 1998. There is a greater proportion of free churches with between 150 and 349 people, 17% compared to the Anglican 10%, and they cover more of total free church attendance, 41% to 31%. At the other end of the scale, there are fewer very small free churches, and they are responsible for a much smaller fraction of congregations.
Part of the reason for the differences between Anglican and Free churches is that the Free churches can, and do, close churches much more easily, and thus much more regularly. In the 1990s the Anglicans closed only 160 churches out of the 16,380 they had in 1990; the Methodists alone closed over 750, and the other Free churches as many again. Naturally the churches that tend to be closed are the smaller ones. 13,000 of the 16,380 Anglican churches in 1990 are listed buildings, whereas for the Free Churches it is only 2,500 out of the 20,700 they had in 1990.
Size and growth
While many of the largest churches are growing, not all are. Size and growth overlap, but not totally. Equally some of the smaller churches are growing. Most, though not all, of the largest churches are evangelical. All the largest churches, as far as we know, are led by men, although most have women as part of their leadership team.
The danger for a large church is simply to depend on their past image and tradition. Like any other church, growth comes through renewed vision and strong leadership. It is these qualities which drive growth in any church of whatever size, which is why many of the smaller churches are growing.
Sources: Article by Peter Helsam in eg, London
Institute for Contemporary Christianity, September 2003, Page 12; Third
Sector, 20th August 2003, Page 7; Rick Warren’s
Ministry Tool Box, 2nd July, 2003; The Tide is Running
Out,
For a full index of all articles published January 2000 - November 2003 Click Here
Sample Pages from previous issues of Quadrant
|
|
|
|