The Condition of the Church in America
Compiled by Pastor Andy McAdams, President of Multiplication Ministries
The following statistics were compiled from a number of resources.
1. 1,400 pastors in America leave the ministry monthly.
2. Ken Sande of Peacemaker Ministries states that one study showed that the average seminary graduate spends only 14 years pastoring before changing careers.
3. Less then 20% of churches recognize or appreciated their pastor in some way annually.
4. Only 15% of churches in the United States are growing and just less then 5% of those are growing by conversion growth.
5. 10,000 churches in America disappeared in a five-year period.
6. The number of people in America that Do Not attend church has doubled in the past 15 years.
7. No more then 38% of the population attends church at all and that’s in the Bible belt. The next highest is the Midwest at 25%, West 21% and the Northeast 17%.
8. Though the Bible-belt still boasts the highest percentage of church attendees, yet many of those churches are filled with legalism or extreme liberalism.
9. The vast majority of churches have an attendance of less then 75.
10. In 70 % of the churches in America, the pastor is the only full-time staff person
11. There are almost 100 million unchurched Americans, 11-20% of them claim to be born-again. They have either left the church or never connected for some reason.
12. The median adult attendance per church service in 1999 was 90 people, which is slightly below the 1998 average of 95 adult attendees and in 1997 it was 102. There seems to be a slight gradual decline.
13. Only 1/5 of the adult population attends Sunday school or some sort of Christian training.
14. 23% of church attendees say they attend a small group for growth and accountability.
15. Only 65% of Americans donate to a place of worship. Evangelicals however 85% donate to their church yet only 9% tithe.
16. 20-25% read their Bible consistently, 59% attend church weekly, 16% listen to Christian radio, 7% watch Christian TV, and 11% are held accountable to someone.
17. Only 60% of Christians say they are deeply committed to their faith, yet 85% of evangelicals make this claim.
18. Among the 71% of those who have heard of spiritual gifts, 31% can name a spiritual gift they believe they possess.
19. One in four have a place in the church where they serve.
20. Less then 50% say that the Bible is totally accurate, yet 60% of those that clam to be born-again.
21. 1/3 of church attendees believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith with others.
22. 56% of the population believe salvation can be earned. Shockingly, 26% are among evangelicals.
23. Giving to charities increased in the past decade yet giving to local churches is declining.
24. Out of 100,000 churches in America less then 5% are considered mega-churches, (1,000 or more).
25. In his book, “Who Shall Lead Them”, Larry Withham said, “20% Of US Churches Have No Future”
26. 1 out of 4 church attendees are considered church hoppers.
27. On average, just 7% of new church attendees are formally unchurched.
28. Leading church analysts Lyle Schaller, George Barna, and Mike Regele stress the alarming truth that over 80% of American Protestant churches are in plateau and/or decline.
29. The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
30. This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
31. As many as 90 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it by their 20th birthday. Many of these boys will never return.
32. It is estimated that 70 to 88% of children from Evangelical churches will leave the church after High School.
33. And estimated 15 to 20 million people now in America have said they are Christians but they simply don’t want to be a part of the church.
34. Only 4% of America’s churches will ever plant a daughter church.
35. Statistics from George Barna brings to light that as of 2006 there has not been much improvement for America’s churches as a whole.
- Although large majorities of the public claim to be “deeply spiritual” and say that their religious faith is “very important” in their life, only 15% of those who regularly attend a Christian church ranked their relationship with God as the top priority in their life
- During the past year (2006) fewer than three out of every ten churched teenagers had received any teaching from their church about elements of the supernatural.
- 21% of adults consider themselves to be holy, by their own admission large numbers have no idea what “holiness” means and only one out of every three (35%) believe that God expects people to become holy.
- Seven out of ten parents claim they are effective at developing the spiritual maturity of their children, but the Barna survey among 8 to12 year-olds discovered that only one-third of them say a church has made “a positive difference” in their life; one-third contend that prayer is very important in their life; most of them would rather be popular than to do what is morally right. In fact, “tweeners” (those ages 8 to 12) deem their family to be vitally important in their life, but just 57% said they look forward to spending time with their family and only one out of every three say it is easy for them to talk to their parents about things that matter to them.
- One out of every six – believe that spiritual maturity is meant to be developed within the context of a local church or within the context of a community of faith.
- The proportion of adults who are born again has risen dramatically in the past quarter century, from 31% to 45%. During the past two decades, every spiritual behavior has fluctuated significantly, with recent upsurge in Bible reading, church attendance, and small group involvement.
36. According to the Gallop poll conducted in June of 2007, 54% of Americans think the church has
no credibility.
37. 43,000 Americans leave the church for good every year.
38. Last year, half of all evangelical churches failed to add 1 new person.
39. On average, churches 20 years and older are on the decline.
40. 60% of the US population will not be reached by current church models.
41. Only 17% of American churches are growing. Be one of those churches!