Viable or Competitive?

Viable or Competitive?
By: Lyle E. Schaller

What is a minimum size for a congregation in 21st century American Protestantism when one-half of all congregations averaged 80 or fewer at worship in 2002? One perspective on that question can be found in the annual reports of congregations affiliated with the United Methodist Church. For 2002, a total of 30 United Methodist congregations reported an average worship attendance of one, while 19 reported an average of two, 38 reported an average of three, 69 reported an average of four, another 120 reported an average of five, 161 reported an average of six, while 169 reported an average of seven, and 266 reported an average of eight. That adds up to 892 congregations averaging eight or fewer at worship.

That compares with the 820 that reported an average worship attendance between 500 and 7,100 in 2002.

While no one denomination provides a representative cross section of American
Protestantism, those two paragraphs help explain that the small congregation really is the norm. What is the minimum size for this new century? The best answer is, "That
depends."

Finish the Sentence
The first variable requires completing that sentence. One perspective requires, "What is the minimum size for an American Protestant congregation to be able to both economically afford and also vocationally challenge a full-time and fully credentialed resident pastor?" That question, however, must be stated in different ways in order to accommodate two variables. One version adds these 15 words: "and the congregation owns and maintains a completely paid-for residence to house that pastor."

Thanks to that asset paid for by and inherited from earlier generations of members, the annual dollar costs to the congregation will be lower than the costs in the second version, which ends with these words: "and provides in lieu of a church-owned residence a housing allowance appropriate for the cost of housing in this community."

The first version produces an annual cost to the congregation that begins at approximately $35,000 to $40,000 including cash salary, plus the congregation's share of pension payments plus utilities, plus health insurance, plus car allowance plus continuing education allowance plus the insurance and maintenance of that church-owned house. How high the dollar cost of that total compensation package will be depends on such variables as the denominational affiliation, the local economy, the age, education, tenure and experience of that minister, and the median income of the families in that congregation. That usually means an average worship attendance of at least 100 is required to meet the test of economic viability. To vocationally challenge an experienced pastor who displays at least an average level of competence in time management, that number should be raised to an average worship attendance of 125 or more.

The second version of that question that includes the payment of a housing allowance usually will require an average worship attendance of at least 125 to 135 to be economically viable. Both of these responses assume that the congregation does not receive income from investments nor from rental of the church property nor from denominational subsidies, either direct or indirect. The congregation with considerable "outside" income may be able to economically afford a full-time and fully credentialed resident pastor despite an average worship attendance well under 100.

A More Modest Goal
Those last two paragraphs suggest an average worship attendance of at least 100 is necessary for a congregation to be economically viable. That obviously does not represent contemporary reality! Exclusive of house churches, approximately 200,000 American Protestant congregations average 100 or fewer at worship, and nearly one-half, or about 90,000, average 50 or fewer at worship. That contrasts with the 55,000 that average more than 200 at worship!

An explanation of those numbers requires another revision of that introductory sentence. What is the minimum size for a Protestant congregation in the United States to be viable if the definition of viable includes (a) maintaining a house of worship, (b) offering the ministry of Word and Sacrament at least once a week, (c) designing and staffing a Sunday school for children, (d) providing a ministry of caring and mutual support by adults who will care for you when you are ill, miss you when you are absent, pray for you when you are in need of the ministry of intercessory prayer, rejoice when you return and mourn when you die, (e) collecting enough money to pay all the bills and (f) allocating at least 10 percent of all those dollars to denominational causes and missions?

An examination of contemporary reality suggests the answer to that long question is that viability requires an average worship attendance of at least 15 and preferably an average attendance in the 20-to-40 range. The disappearance of three or four key lay persons is far more disruptive when worship attendance averages 15 than when it averages 35.

A More Expensive Goal
If that six-part definition of viability is expanded to add three more components--(f) resourcing a ministry of music, (g) providing challenging learning opportunities and experiences for teenagers and adults and (h) paying for the part-time services of a licensed minister--the demands go up. One is the demand for money. The other is the need for more people. Thus, that nine-part definition of viability usually requires an average worship attendance in the 40-to-80 bracket. Approximately one-half of all of the Protestant congregations in America average 80 or fewer at worship. As explained earlier, however, if the definition of viability includes a full-time and fully credentialed resident pastor, the dollar costs are higher.

This Pastor Raises the Bar
"Next month I'll turn 40," explained this pastor. "I spent the first five years after seminary serving a two-church parish in a rural county. I'm finishing my 10th year in this congregation, and I'm ready to move. With three reservations, I'm open to most any kind of challenge. One reservation is the church must have a full-time secretary. For five years, I did all of the secretarial work. Here, I've had a half-time secretary. She comes in every afternoon, five days a week, but that means I have to answer the telephone every morning. Second, I want a professional, not an amateur, directing our adult choir. I'll settle for a part-time person, but I want a real professional. Third, I don't relate to today's teenagers as well as I did 10 years ago, so I want either a part-time paid youth director or a team of volunteers who will carry that responsibility."

Those are all reasonable expectations by an experienced minister, but they do cost money. Add another $20,000 to $40,000 to personnel costs, and the definition of viability goes up another notch or two. Add in the increase in the price of the compensation package for a minister with 15 years experience as a parish pastor, and this minister appears to be open to a move to a congregation that averages at least 175 or more at worship. That eliminates nearly four of five congregations in American Protestantism from this pastor's list of attractive options for a move.

Two Other Forks in the Road
When that definition of viability requires an average worship attendance of 175 or more, we must go back and again revise the wording of the question. One revised version reads, "How large should a congregation be if we want to minimize anonymity and limit the level of complexity?" The ideal answer is an average worship attendance of 15 to 40. The ceiling is in the range of 125 to 150 average worship attendance. Operationally, the answer is to be able to avoid the need to schedule more than one worship service between noon Saturday and noon Sunday. Expanding the schedule to two or more worship services every weekend creates greater complexity and enhances anonymity.

The other revision of that question changes the name of the game. Instead of focusing on the priorities of the current constituents, this question focuses on reaching, attracting, serving, nurturing, assimilating and challenging potential future members. "The competition among the churches in this community for new constituents is greater today than ever before. How large must a congregation be to be able to compete for future members?"

The answer to that question obviously will vary greatly from one community to another, but a useful generalization is, "An average worship attendance larger than nine out of 10 of the other Protestant congregations serving the residents of this community." Given the recent increases in the length of the journey to church by younger generations, this often includes competitors with a meeting place seven to 10 miles from your church. In rural communities, this criterion may translate into an average worship attendance of 200 to 300. In hundreds of urban and suburban communities, however, to be competitive, an average worship attendance of 500 to 800 is required to be among the largest 10 percent.

Why So Large?
Relatively few American Protestant churchgoers explain, "The reason I'm a member here is because I was looking for a big congregation filled with anonymity and complexity." They are more likely to explain their choice in terms of a tradeoff. "While I would prefer to be a member of a smaller congregation, this was the only church we visited after we moved here that met all five of our criteria. We were looking for a congregation that offered an attractive youth ministry for our 15-year-old, and we wanted a Sunday school for all three of our children. In addition, my husband and I wanted a church that challenged us with relevant sermons, that affirmed our values and that placed a high priority on equipping people to be engaged in doing ministry. We shopped nine different congregations and quickly eliminated all but two. The other one is closer to where we live, but the youth program there was not what our 15-year-old wanted:"

The operational translation of that explanation is in contemporary America to be competitive a Protestant church must be able to mobilize the resources required to meet a variety of expectations as well as the demand for quality and relevance. That includes everything from a surplus of attractive, accessible, convenient and safe off-street parking to staffing child care for weekday and weeknight events to a variety of meaningful and memorable experiences to challenging adults to volunteer as short-term missionaries to work in ministry with fellow Christians in a sister church on another continent to relevant learning opportunities for adults on a self-identified spiritual journey and to recreational activities to feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless.

What Does This Mean?
The operational translation of these observations is most congregations in American Protestantism have five choices. One is to place a high priority on institutional survival goals and be content with an average worship attendance of fewer than 15. A second is to function as an overgrown small group and be comfortable with an average worship attendance of 15 to 40. A third is to conceptualize this as a "congregation of several congregations, classes, cells, circles, choirs, fellowships, groups, organizations and task forces." Each one of those smaller units is a place where individuals can gain a feeling or sense of belonging. Hopefully, that collection of groups will produce an average worship attendance of approximately 125 or more. A fourth option focuses on the question, "How can we attract and retain the services of an experienced and competent pastor?" That usually requires an average worship attendance of 150 to 200 or more.

Finally, the most demanding question is, "How can we compete with other Protestant churches for prospective future members?" That usually means, using average worship attendance as the yardstick to measure size, (a) a commitment to be competitive and (b) ranking among the largest 10 percent of the Protestant congregations serving the people living in your community.

For more than four decades, Lyle E. Schaller has served as a parish consultant to hundreds of congregations and scores of denominational agencies. His recent books include From Geography to Affinity and The Ice Cube Is Melting. The author's newest book, A Mainline Turnaround, will be published by Abingdon Press in May 2005.