Facilities

• A majority (54%) of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations worship in sanctuaries originally constructed before 1950, with half that number (26% overall) worshiping in sanctuaries built before 1900. One in six congregations have sanctuaries built after 1974.

• The median seating capacity in sanctuaries is 200 persons. A quarter of congregations have sanctuaries that seat more than 300 people, while one in five seat 125 or fewer.

• Most PC(USA) congregations report adequate space for worship, education, and fellowship. But 18% indicate that they need more room for worship, and 43%, more room for education. A majority, 53%, report a need for more parking space.

• One in ten congregations share worship space with another congregation.

• A fourth of congregations use facilities that need improvement, including a few (4%) that are in serious need of improvement and repair.

Location

• Almost one-half of PC(USA) congregations are located in either small towns (32%) or rural areas (15%). Another one in five is located in or near a city of 250,000 or more population.

• Of congregations in or near a city of at least 10,000 population:
  • 23% are located in the downtown or inner city area
  • 34% are located in other parts of the city
  • 28% are located in an older suburb
  • 15% are located in a newer suburb

• All congregations offer an opportunity for worship on Sunday mornings. Median attendance on Sunday mornings is 90 people.

• One in four congregations (26%) offer two or more services on Sunday morning. Worship style varies among services in a majority (59%) of congregations.

• In almost a third of congregations (29%), the best-attended service fills 80% or more of the sanctuary, including 7% that have standing room only.

• Majorities of congregations report that worship always or often includes:
  • organ and/or piano music (97%)
  • reading/recitation of creeds or statements of faith (74%)
  • a time for people to greet each other (65%)

• . . . but only minorities report that worship always or usually includes:
  • kneeling by the congregation (1%)
  • dance or drama (3%)
  • the use of visual projection equipment (6%)
  • a time for members to testify about their faith (11%)

• Only 10% of congregations report that their primary worship service has changed a lot in the last five years. Most report that worship is either basically the same (30%) or has changed a little (41%).

• 88% of respondents name the Bible as the most important authority for their congregation's worship and teaching, while 5% name the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and 4%, historic creeds, doctrines, and tradition.

• Counting everyone involved in congregational life, including both members and non-members (however irregular their participation), yields a median estimate of 200 persons per congregation.

• The median estimate of regular adult participants is 100, while the median number of regular participants under age 18 is 25. Most congregations report that the number of regularly- participating adults has either stayed about the same (37%) or increased (48%) compared to five years ago.

• The percentages of congregations reporting that most, nearly all, or all of their members:
  • are female: 29%
  • are college graduates: 26%
  • are aged 60 or older: 24%
  • are married: 47%
  • live near the church: 27%
  • live in households with less than $20,000 annual incomes: 2%
  • live in households with more that $75,000 annual incomes: 10%

• Only 5% of congregations have a worship service conducted in a language other than English.
  

Congregational Programs

• Seven in ten congregations have "an organized program for keeping up with members' needs and providing ministry at the neighborhood level."

• Other programs that a majority of congregations offer year-round include:
  • choir(s) (reported by 70%)
  • youth/teen activities (63%)
  • men's/women's ministries (58%)
  • Bible study (54%)
  • community service (54%)

• A quarter of congregations (24%) have a small group ministry as a fundamental part of their strategy for Christian nurture.
  

Outreach to Visitors

• Almost all congregations (94%) try to identify visitors, and three-fourths (72%) contact visitors in person or by phone within a few days or a week of the visit. Another 9% send immediate greetings by letter.

• In a typical month, the pastoral staff averages (median) four visits or phone calls to "prospective members, worship visitors, or newcomers in the community."

• One in four congregations (27%) provide "special parking or seating" for visitors.

• Current members are "involved in recruiting new members" not at all (4%) or only to a slight extent (32%) in more than one-third of congregations. Only a fifth of congregations report that laity are involved in new member outreach to a very great extent (6%) or a large extent (16%).
  

Service to the Community

• Almost all congregations (96%) provide some sort of food assistance to the needy in their communities, often (69% so report) in cooperation with another agency or congregation.

• Other service programs that involve at least half of congregations, whether independently or cooperatively, include:
  • cash or vouchers given to families or individuals (82% so report)
  • thrift store or thrift store donations (63%)
  • counseling services or support groups (53%)
  • temporary or permanent housing/shelter (51%)
  • senior citizen programs (50%)

• The average (median) congregation serves 50 people a month in its community programs.

• 79% of congregations had conflict in the last five years. In 23%, that conflict was very serious.

• Of congregations that have had serious conflict, that conflict:

• is ongoing in 7%
• remains, but is no longer serious in 24%
• was resolved with no negative consequences in 33%
• was resolved with some negative consequences in 36%

• The causes of very serious conflict, in order of frequency, are:
  • pastor's leadership style, 23%
  • member's personal behavior, 15%
  • pastor's personal behavior, 15%
  • who makes a decision, 12%
  • money/finances/budget, 10%
  • how worship is conducted, 7%
  • mission priorities, 7%
  • theology, 6%
  • all others, 6%

Ecumenical/Interfaith Involvement

• 86% of congregations participated in activities with congregations of another faith tradition. Most involved other Christian bodies; only one in ten congregations reported interfaith activities.

• The most common ecumenical activity was a joint worship service, reported by 69% of congregations. Majorities also reported participation in "councils of churches or ministerial associations" (60%), "joint service projects" (57%), and "joint celebrations or programs other than worship" (54%).

• A third of respondents describe the current financial health of their congregation as excellent, and another third as good.

• The average (median) congregation reports total annual receipts for 1999 of $146,298.

• A majority of congregations received some income in 1999 from endowments, but for most (75%) the amount was less than 10% of total congregational income.

• The average (median) expenditures for selected budget categories in 1999 were:
  • 50%, staff salaries and benefits
  • 20%, utilities, building upkeep, and other congregational operations
  • 5%, program support and materials
  • 5%, PC(USA) mission work
  • 5%, capital improvements
  • 4%, other local mission work
  • 1%, other national or international mission work

Leadership

• All but one responding congregation report having a paid senior or solo pastor or co-pastor. Four in five (81%) describe the pastor as holding a regular call, and one in five (19%), as being temporary/interim.

• On average (median) the senior pastor is 50 years of age and has been at the congregation five years. 84% are male. 32% have a doctoral degree.

• 22% of congregations describe the senior pastor's call as part time. A third of these (35%) report that this pastor also serves at least one other congregation.

• Half or more of respondents believe each of the following terms describes their pastor very well:
  • cares about people (64% so report)
  • knows the Bible (56%)
  • hard worker (52%)
  • good preacher (50%)

• Descriptors that fewer than 30% of respondents believe describe their pastor very well include:
  • charismatic leader (18% so report)
  • evangelistic (21%)
  • knows how to get things done (26%)
  • effective administrator (26%)

• Two-thirds of congregations report that recruiting volunteer leaders is a continual challenge even though they eventually find enough willing people. Another 8% can't find enough people . . . willing to serve.
  

Resources

• Around half of congregations purchase worship, educational, and other resources either exclusively (5%) or primarily from within the PC(USA) (42%). Another third (34%) strike a pretty even balance between Presbyterian and other sources. Only 2% obtain materials exclusively from outside the PC(USA).

Learn more about Faith Communities Today by visiting the FACT website

For information about the Presbyterian Church's participation in FACT, email:
Jack Marcum