ISSUE ARCHIVE

Challenges Facing American Congregations

Last month I reported on factors associated with growth in spiritual vitality and attendance identified in American Congregations 2008, a report by the Cooperative Congregations Studies Partnership at Hartford Seminary, building on similar studies in 2000 and 2005. The report is based on a national survey of more than 2,500 churches and other religious communities in four traditions: Oldline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, Catholic & Orthodox, and World Religions.

While we can build on the positive lessons named last month, we cannot ignore the report's overall finding that the new century has brought a turn downward for American congregations — what the report's author David A. Roozen calls "a slow, but across the board, retreat." Some of the challenges related to this decline revolve around the following factors:

• Identity and Purpose. The stronger a congregation's distinctiveness and sense of direction, the more likely it is to be spiritually vital and growing. This is not good news for Oldline Protestant congregations, which, according to the report, "are distinguished by their lack of distinctiveness." Only 14 percent of these congregations have a strong sense of being different from other congregations, roughly half the percentage for other faith families. Having a clear sense of mission and purpose is strongly related to distinctiveness. Strong self identity has a positive relationship to spiritual vitality, financial health, worship attendance growth, and lack of conflict.


• Age. Those 65 or older make up a majority of the membership in 22 percent of Oldline Protestant congregations surveyed compared to 6 percent in Evangelical Protestant and 3 percent in Catholic and Orthodox congregations. The research also found that the higher the percentage of seniors, the less clarity a church has about purpose. Since the relationship of purpose to vitality and growth is so strong, Roozen maintains that this connection remains "one of the least discussed but most practically significant aspects of congregational life and identity."


• Conflict. There is inevitable conflict within congregations, but serious conflict takes a toll on vitality, growth, and finances. About 25 percent of congregations continue to report such major conflict within the past five years. The three topics most likely to be the subject of the conflict continue to be money, worship, and leadership. Conflicts over leadership are most likely to produce serious negative consequences.


• Finances. The financial health of American congregations significantly eroded between 2000 and 2008 — and this was before the recession that hit in late 2008. High spiritual vitality has a strong positive relationship to financial health, and the presence of serious conflict has an equally strong but negative relationship to financial health. As financial health improves, giving to mission increases. One of the strongest factors in improved financial health is increasing attendance.

2011 Funding Conference Scheduled for March 26 at Wesley Seminary

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership will offer its annual Funding Your Congregation's Vision conference on Saturday, March 26, 2011, on the campus of Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. Building on the Lewis Center's past work in funding ministry, next year's event will explore a number of new subject areas. Further details and registration information for the half-day event (9 a.m.–12:45 p.m.) will be available in January.

Map Illustrates Moving Patterns by Counties

Millions of people move from one county to another each year. If you would like to see from where people are coming to your county or where their destinations are if moving away, go to the map link below. Click once on a county to see the comings and goings: black lines indicate net inward movement; red lines, net outward movement. http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html.

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Update is a monthly report to subscribers of Leading Ideas
on the work of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.