The average number of adults attending services at a Protestant church during a typical week remains stuck at 90, the same total as measured in the prior year’s study. This reflects a 10% decline from the 1997 level (100 adults), and a 12% drop from 1992.
Church attendance was highest in the South, where the typical church has 100 adults who show up, while the lowest figures were recorded in the Northeast and West, each region averaging 80 adults. The Midwest fell in the middle, with 90 adults participating in a typical week.
Churches associated with charismatic denominations (such as Assembly of God, United Pentecostal or Foursquare) had the lowest average turnout (80), while black congregations had the highest median attendance (120). Mainline churches were above the norm (98), as were churches described as “seeker-driven” (100). Baptist churches, which comprise the most prolific category of churches in America, were consistent with the national average (90).
The survey also revealed an intriguing anomaly.
While churches affiliated with a charismatic denomination attract an average of just 80 adults, churches that describe themselves as charismatic but are not aligned with a charismatic denomination attract more adults than the national average or the norm for charismatic churches. Those churches – a combination of mainline, independent and evangelical congregations – average 150 adults per week, which is nearly 90% more than denominational charismatic churches.
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?P...rnaUpdateID=85
Linear Mode
