Tag «Health & Metrics»

Why We Need to Ask More Numerical Questions about Our Church

I’m well aware that it’s easy to get focused on numbers when evaluating church growth. Too many church leaders report “butts in the seats” and “bucks in the plate” more than anything else—without really evaluating even those numbers. For example, we might report a significant attendance increase without pointing out that most of that growth…

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The Death of Evangelism: Five Issues We Must Address

The issue may be the biggest surprise of my ministry. On the one hand, I am surprised at the decline of evangelism in most churches. But that is not the biggest surprise. The issue that perplexes and surprises me the most is that very few church leaders and members are even acknowledging the death of…

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Why Your Church Will Die within Five Years

I became fascinated with dead and dying churches about thirty years ago. I know. It’s morbid on my part. My fascination turned into somewhat of an obsession that I wrote a bestselling book on the topic, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, several years ago. It still has robust sales today. It obviously hit a nerve. …

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Why Smaller Churches Must Be Better at Hospitality than Larger Churches

It’s not fair. I know. Smaller churches must be better at hospitality than larger churches. First, I will explain why. Then I will demonstrate how this perceived inequity is to the benefit of smaller churches. Guests have different expectations of different-sized churches. When new people or families walk into an extraordinarily large church, most will…

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Why Your Congregation Is Likely More Optimistic about the Future Than You Realize

Over 80% of churchgoers predict a promising future for their churches. Is this figure what you would expect? Until I saw the research, I would not have guessed optimism was so high among churchgoers. Where did this statistic originate? The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) conducted a national survey in August 2022 of almost 6,000…

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Comparing Your Church’s Current Data to 2019

There is always a danger in basing an article on numbers. They can seem to be ultimate or penultimate goals when they should be neither. Numbers, however, like a thermometer, can be a rough gauge of our current health. In that regard, looking at churches’ data can be a good exercise. Though the data is…

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55% Younger Adults Prefer Smaller Churches

It’s a massive change that few church leaders are noticing. For decades, the conventional wisdom was simple: younger generations flocked to bigger churches with contemporary music, better tech, and full-service programming. That assumption may now b…

The Disappearance of the 30-Something and 40-Something Pastor (Here’s Why)

We’re all getting older. Almost every demographic in the United States is having fewer children. Population growth is slowing, and immigration rates are not fast enough to keep up with the aging nation. In 1970, the median age was 28. Half the population was older than 28, and half the population was younger than 28….

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