Transcript Slide 1

© 2004 by David T. Olson
1
The State of the Church
in the Grand Rapids
Metro Area
1990-2000
Dave Olson
www.TheAmericanChurch.org
© 2004 by David T. Olson
2
In 1996,
polls taken immediately after the Presidential election
revealed that 58% of people claimed they had voted,
when in reality only 49% actually did. This is called the
Halo Effect. People tend to over-inflate their participation
in activities that create acceptability within their social
group.
For many decades, pollsters such as Gallup and Barna have
reported that around 45% of Americans attend church
every Sunday. But there is a religious Halo Effect. Actual
attendance counts have shown that the
percentage of people attending church on any
given weekend is much lower than was previously
thought.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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The Intent
of this presentation is to answer and then expand on
two key questions:
“How Many People Really Attend Church
in the Grand Rapids Metro Area Every
Week?”
“Is the Christian Church Going Forwards
or Backwards in Influence in the Grand
Rapids Metro Area?”
As the data is analyzed county by county assessing a number of
factors, a comprehensive picture of the State of the Church in
Metropolitan Grand Rapids will begin to take shape.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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This study
uses weekend church attendance as a more
reliable and more immediate snapshot of
Christian influence than membership. The
following map shows the percentage of the
population attending a Christian church on any
given weekend in all 50 states in 2000. Michigan
has a weekly attendance percentage of 20.6%.
The Grand Rapids metro has a weekly
attendance percentage of 24.8%, much higher
than the state and the national average
(18.7%).
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Percentage of Population Attending a Christian
Church on any Given Weekend 2000
11.8%
14.0%
NH
WA
17.5%
11.2%
13.2%
29.4%
MT
23.2%
ND
ME
VT
MN
14.5%
OR
14.4%
11.4%
24.6%
28.0%
ID
14.0%
NY
WI
SD
20.6%
WY
20.3%
CA
20.3%
15.2%
UT
IL
CO
22.7%
KS
AZ
21.7%
IN
WV
22.1%
MO
OK
NM
22.7%
NC
TN
25.0%
28.6% 16.0%
DC
DE
17.7%
MD
23.3%
SC
26.7%
MS
TX
18.0%
VA
KY
AR
19.1%
CT
NJ
17.4%
21.5%
22.0%
17.8%
16.0%
OH
23.5%
14.3%
17.2%
PA
IA
3.1%
NV
RI
20.5%
24.7%
NE
14.8%
20.1%
MI
23.8%
9.7%
MA
15.5%
26.9%
23.3%
GA
AL
29.4%
LA
15.1%
AK
15.1%
13.4%
HI
0.0% to 14.4%
14.4% to 17.5%
17.5% to 20.6%
20.6% to 23.5%
23.5% to 29.4%
© 2004 by David T. Olson
FL
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The Next Map
shows the percentage of the population
attending a Christian church on any given
weekend in 2000 for each county in the
Grand Rapids metro.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Grand Rapids MSA
2000 Percentage of
Population in Worship
At a Christian Church
on any Given Weekend
18.5%
Muskegon
26.2%
30.7%
Ottawa
18.9%
Allegan
Kent
The Next Graph
shows the attendance numbers for the churches in the
Grand Rapids metro in 1990 and 2000. Evangelical
churches have grown, Mainline churches have stayed
the same and Catholic churches have declined
slightly. Unfortunately, as overall worship attendance
has increased, the population has grown even faster.
A more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or
declining influence is the percentage of the
population attending church on any given weekend,
shown in the second graph.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Grand Rapids MSA Worship Attendance 1990 & 2000
300,000
266,978
269,916
1990 Total
2000 Total
250,000
200,000
156,182
150,000
140,759
100,000
59,390
59,614
66,904
58,297
50,000
1990
Evangelical
2000
Evangelical
1990 Mainline 2000 Mainline 1990 Catholic 2000 Catholic
© 2004 by David T. Olson
Grand Rapids MSA 1990 & 2000 Percentage of Population at Worship
30.0%
28.5%
24.8%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
15.0%
14.3%
1990
2000
10.0%
7.1%
6.3%
5.5%
5.4%
5.0%
0.0%
Evangelical
Mainline
Catholic
© 2004 by David T. Olson
Total
The Next Graph
is a Pie graph visualizing the percentage of the
population at churches in each category in
2000. The “Absent” category indicates the
percentage of the population that is not
worshipping at a Christian church on any
given weekend. The second graph shows the
percentage gain or decline for each category
in the Grand Rapids area in 1990 and 2000.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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2000 Grand Rapids MSA Worship Attendance
Evangelical
14%
Mainline
5%
Catholic
5%
Evangelical
Mainline
Catholic
Absent
Absent
76%
© 2004 by David T. Olson
Grand Rapids MSA Growth or Decline in Worship Percentage 1990 - 2000
0.0%
-5.0%
-4.4%
-10.0%
-12.9%
-13.5%
-15.0%
-20.0%
-24.9%
-25.0%
-30.0%
Evangelical
Mainline
Catholic
© 2004 by David T. Olson
Total
The Next Map
shows the attendance percentage for the
Evangelical churches in each county in Grand
Rapids in 2000.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Grand Rapids Metro Counties
2000 Percentage
of Population at
Worship in
All Evangelical
Churches on
a Given Weekend
Blue = Lowest
Rose = Middle
Beige = Highest
10.6%
Muskegon
15.2%
17.0%
Ottawa
6.5%
Allegan
Kent
The Next Map
shows the growth or decline in the percentage
of the population attending a Christian church
on any given weekend from 1990 to 2000 for
each county. No county grew in attendance
percentage, while 4 counties declined.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Grand Rapids Metro Counties
1990 - 2000 Growth or
Decline in Percentage
of the Population at
Worship in All Christian
Churches on a
Given Weekend
Blue = Decline
Rose = Growth
-9.6%
Muskegon
-13.5%
-12.8%
Ottawa
-3.5%
Allegan
Kent
The Next Map
shows the growth or decline of attendance
percentages for the Evangelical churches in
each county in Grand Rapids between 1990
and 2000. For evangelicals, no counties grew
in attendance percentage, while 4 county
declined.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Grand Rapids Metro Counties
1990 - 2000 Growth or
Decline in Percentage
of the Population at
Worship in All Evangelical
Churches on a
Given Weekend
Blue = Decline
Rose = Growth
-3.9%
Muskegon
-9.4%
-8.2%
Ottawa
-0.5%
Allegan
Kent
More or Fewer Churches
There was a net gain of 10 churches in the past
decade. However, to keep up with the
population growth in the Grand Rapids metro,
there would have needed to have been a net
gain of 69 churches from 1990 - 2000.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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The State of the Church in
Grand Rapids . . .


Evangelical churches are growing in numbers, Mainline
churches are plateaued and Catholic churches are
declining. Because of population growth, however, all
groups have declined in the percentage of the
population attending their churches.
A factor in the decline in percentage attendance is the
insufficient net gain in the number of churches in Grand
Rapids. If the present decade is to rectify that in the
metro area, 59 more churches would need to be started
than in the previous decade.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Why We Plant Churches
Conversions
Per 100
Attenders
38
18
12
7
3
All
All
Evangelical Covenant
Churches Churches
New
Covenant
Churches
2003
2004-5
GLC
GLC
This graphic illustrates the results of repeated studies, which bear out the fact that church planting remains a highly
effective means of evangelism today. Lyle Schaller, one of the most respected analysts of church life states that
“church planting is the closest thing to a guaranteed method of outreach.”
© 2004 byhttp://www.churchesplantingchurches.org/
David T. Olson
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M-6/Byron
Center
Corridor
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Hearing God
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Our Heartbeats
A Church Which . . .
1. loves God with heart, soul, mind, strength.
2. lives out, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
3. connects with unchurched people.
4. grows children to become spiritual champions.
5. uses small groups as the primary means of
discipleship.
6. is willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of
the Gospel.
7. believes to whom much is given, much is
required.
8. utilizes creativity and
learning
styles.
© 2004
by David T. Olson
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Weekend Worship
•Weekly challenging people to make spiritual
commitments (alter calls, etc.).
•Use drama, film, and music as regular means of
communication.
•Biblical preaching (nothing watered down).
•Balance of “family style” and adult specific worship.
•Passionate worship.
•Multi-generational.
•Casual environment.
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Need for Partners

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
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Parent – ave size after 5 years = 345
Partners – ave size after 5 yrs = 148
Pioneer – ave size after 5 yrs = 45
Community-based – ave size… = 220
We want to combine partnering with
Community-based = 148 + 220 = 368
Gen Exp of Parent Churches after 5 yrs (ncd)



All chs who parent gain 28 new members per 100
Churches who don’t help plant gain only 16…
Healthy Churches who plant gain 64…
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Our Plants Grow Well
Average Yearly Growth Rate of New Churches from Years 2 to 7
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
ECC
UMC
BGC
LCMS
ELCA
C&MA
DC
COGTN
© 2004 by David T. Olson
COTN
PCUSA
COTB
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What Partners Do


Pray
People



Phishing Liscence
Mission-Minded people for core
Referrals of those who are seeking




We plant new chs to REACH People for Jesus
Participation in Outreach Events & Help
with Previews & Preparatory Worship
“Parts is Parts” – Equipment
Phinances
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Acts 17:22,23
So Paul took his stand in the open space at
the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It
is plain to see that you Athenians take your
religion seriously. When I arrived here the
other day, I was fascinated with all the
shrines I came across. And then I found
one inscribed, to the god nobody knows.
I’m here to introduce you to this God so you
can worship intelligently, know who you’re
dealing with.
The Message
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Luke 10:1-3
1 After this, the Lord chose seventy-two
others and sent them out in pairs ahead of
him into every town and place where he
planned to go. 
2
He said to them, “There are
a great many people to harvest, but there are
only a few workers. So pray to God, who
owns the harvest, that he will send more
workers to help gather his harvest. 
3
Go now,
but listen! I am sending you out like sheep
among wolves.
The New Century Version
© 2004 by David T. Olson
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Matthew 28:18-20

18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 
19
Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 
20
and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end
of the age.”
NIV

© 2004 by David T. Olson
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