Sunday, January 13, 2008

Survivability: Indicators of Church Health

Size is a common indicator used to evaluate the health of a new church. Though size is not a complete measure of health, achieving a critical mass is essential for survivability. A surprising result of research from NAMB (Southern Baptists) shows that church plants are actually smaller than many imagined. The typical church plant does not pass 100 in attendance after 4 years.

Another indicator of new church health is evangelistic effectiveness. The number of baptisms or conversions has a strong correlation to the evangelistic effectiveness of new churches. The average number of baptisms or conversions is 10 the first year, 11 the second year, 13 the third year, and 14 the fourth year.

Many church planters envision their churches growing much larger, much faster. They also envision their churches having a greater evangelistic impact. This is possible with good training and good coaching.

1 comment:

Brannen Padgett said...

I'm enjoying the blogs! Everything you taught us is now being put into use. We are about to get crankin with missional core group meetings. Also, Hal is coming to town Feb. 10 - 12, it should be fun hearing what he has to say about our locations! Take care.