Here are some highlights from the Research Services' annual numerical profile of the PC(USA), Comparative Statistics 2000.
Membership Decline Grows
The net loss in 2000, 34,871, or 1.4 percent, is the largest since 1994, and slightly above the average annual loss of 1.2 percent for the past decade. This loss marks 35 consecutive years of net declines in membership.
Congregations Down, NCDs Up
The PCUSA ended 2000 with 11,178 churches, a net decrease of 38 during the year, slightly more than the average annual drop of 32 since 1990. The number of new church developments begun last year, 29, is the most since 1992, when 45 were established. The annual average since 1992, when national records were first kept, is 26.
Most Presbyterian churches are relatively small: the median size for 2000 is 120, down from 137 a decade earlier. Overall, 44 percent of PCUSA congregations have 100 or fewer members.
Racial Ethnic Composition: Mostly White
The percentage of Presbyterians who are racial ethnic has grown from 5.7 percent in 1991 to 7.1 percent last year, in part because of more complete reporting. The racial ethnic total includes African Americans (3.1 percent), Asians (2.4 percent), Hispanics (1.1 percent), and Native Americans (0.3 percent).
Active Ministers Decrease
The PCUSA had 13,989 active and 7,076 retired ministers at the end of 2000. Since 1990, the number of active ministers has declined by 9 percent while the number of retired ministers has increased by 41 percent. Over the same period, annual ordinations declined by 9 percent, from 405 to 367, and the total number of candidates for the ministry dropped by 12 percent (1,337 to 1,182). However, the number of racial ethnic candidates increased 53 percent, to 223.
More Women in Ministry
A quarter of all active ministers (3,550) are women, up from 1990 when there were 2,137 active women ministers, or 14 percent of the total. Of all women active in ministry, 1,000, or 36 percent, serve congregations as either a senior, solo or co-pastor. Another 17 percent serve as associate pastors and 7 percent as interim pastors. Viewed differently, 15 percent of all senior, solo, or co- pastors are women, up from 8 percent in 1990, and 42 percent of all associate pastors are women, up from 31 percent a decade earlier.
Women are a slight majority of all candidates for the ministry, 53 percent. In 1990, women made up 44 percent of PC(USA) ministerial candidates.
Receipts Increase
Total receipts for all PCUSA congregations in 2000 sum to $2.9 billion, or $1,164 per member. The largest category of receipts, $1.95 billion, consists of individual contributions for program and mission. An additional $429 million was given for capital and building funds. Bequests total $118 million.
These figures reflect large increases since 1990 when total receipts were $1.9 billion, or $660 per member. The annual average increase, around 6 percent, is well above the average annual rate of inflation for the same decade (around 3 percent).
Most Money Spent Locally
In 2000, congregations spent about 2.0 billion (68 percent of total expenditures) on local program and mission. Another 23 percent was also spent locally, either for capital improvements ($509 million) or investments ($169 million). Congregations also expended $40 million (1.4 percent) on per capita apportionment, $137 million (4.7 percent) on validated mission, and $71 million (2.4 percent) on other, non-PC(USA), mission. Of the validated total, $37 million went to presbytery mission, $9 million to synod mission, and $54 million to General Assembly mission.
The table shows that recent increases in outlay per member have almost entirely been expended locally, principally on local program and capital improvements. Of the five-year increase in congregational expenditures of $343 per member, only $8 went for validated mission. An additional $11 of the gain went to other, non-PC(USA) mission programs.
| Per Member Expenditures | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | 1995 | 2000 |
| Local Expenditures: | ||
| local mission | $ 40 | $ 59 |
| local program | 534 | 728 |
| capital improvements | 122 | 202 |
| investments | 40 | 67 |
| Local Expenditures Subtotal | 736 | 1,056 |
| Per Capita Apportionment | 14 | 16 |
| Validated Mission: | ||
| presbytery general mission | 16 | 15 |
| synod general mission | 5 | 4 |
| General Assembly mission | 20 | 21 |
| other validated mission | 5 | 14 |
| Validated Mission Subtotal | 46 | 54 |
| Other Mission (non-PCUSA) | 17 | 28 |
| Total Expenditures | 813 | 1,154 |
To obtain your copy. Comparative Statistics 2000 (PDS #65100-01024) is available for $5 from PDS at (800) 524-2612.
Email the author: Jack Marcum
Research Services