6 Trends in American Churches

Think about this! In 1998:

• Most Americans didn’t use the Internet
• The first consumer level smartphone (remember the Blackberry) had yet to hit the market, let alone the purses and pants pockets of the typical American
• You could still meet people at their airport gate; the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were still three years away

Life has changed in the church world as well. If you feel like the life of the church is changing around you—you’re probably right! Here are six trends in the American church today:

1. Smaller—and larger—churches. The average church in America is shrinking, but the average churchgoer is attending a larger church. The average congregation has only 70 regular participants, but the average attendee worships in a congregation with about 400 regular participants. (The National Congregations Study)
2. Less denominational affiliation. More churches are claiming no denominational affiliation, a particularly common trend among megachurches. From 1998 to 2012, the percentage of congregations operating outside a denomination grew from 18 to 24 percent.

3.  Multisite churches are on the rise. Multisite means one church that has worship services at different sites or venues. Leadership Network reported that there were 200 multisite churches in 2002 while in 2014 that number exceeded 8,000!
4.  Even committed believers are attending services less frequently. People who used to attend 4 times a month may only attend 3 times a month. Members who used to come twice a month will only come once a month. That means your church attendance may be down 20% even though your membership has stayed the same!
5.  More new churches are opening than old churches are closing. Every year, approximately 4,000 churches are birthed in the U.S. (500 more than are closed).
6.  Starting new churches continues to be the most effective means to reach new people. Typically new churches are highly focused on connecting with not-yet-believers. Their leaders, members, and ministries are designed to allow new people easy connection to belief.

Stan Granberg, Kairos Executive Director