Half of U.S. Protestant pastors say their churches are growing but some warning signs remain about their congregational future.
U.S. Protestant churches are almost evenly split between those that have grown within the past two years and those that are plateaued or declining, according to an Exponential study by Lifeway Research.
Around half of the congregations (52%) increased their worship service attendance by at least 4% in the past two years. The other 48% of churches have either remained within plus or minus 4% since 2022 (33%) or declined by at least 4% (15%).
In general, the large are growing larger and the small keep getting smaller. Congregations with more than 250 in attendance (62%) and those with 100 to 250 (59%) are more likely than churches with 50 to 99 in attendance (45%) and those with fewer than 50 (23%) to be growing by 4% or more.
Evangelical pastors are more likely than mainline pastors to say their church is growing (57% v. 46%). Denominationally, Holiness (63%), Pentecostal (62%) and Baptist congregations (59%) are more likely than Methodist (43%) and Lutheran churches (37%) to be experiencing growth of at least 4%.
Churches seeking to capitalize on any momentum from post-pandemic attendance gains would need to continue to reach new individuals, raise new leaders, support new churches and have the finances to accomplish all three.
For more information, view the complete report and visit LifewayResearch.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Aaron Earls and originally published by Lifeway.
