1 Response to CRC Statistics Links

1. Nate says:

   March 17, 2012 at 8:19 pm

   What was most interesting to me about this was that since 1963 our total members numbers have hoovered around the quarter of a million mark. It has moved up, clearing 300K in the 90s but then declined again.

   In seminary we read a paper about church size. The paper identified 4 different size churches. The family church, the program church, the multi-staff church and then the megachurch. As a church grows or shrinks through critical membership numbers major adjustments are needed in structure. For example, a family church of 150 or so members will transform into a program church at about 200 or so members. This means that in order for a family church to grow out of being a family church it needs to make structural changes. I.e. hiring a secretary rather than volunteers, hiring a youth pastor, multiple bible studies rather than just one size fits all etc…

   I wonder if the same is true of whole denominations. I wonder if the structure of Classis and having Synod every year simply cannot support a denomination larger than say 300,000. Maybe a denomination with only one seminary and a commitment to leadership from elders and local pastors rather than an episcopal model simply cannot grow any bigger?

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