Urban church statistics show how congregations can change as a city changes. In Greater Grand Rapids, the 2017 Study of Congregations recorded 518 congregations, compared with 471 in 2007. The study also examined congregational traditions, population changes through 2016, regular attendance, worship patterns, education, and staffing.
Contents
- Growth and congregational change
- Traditions and new congregations
- Population and congregational diversity
- Age, size, and regular attendance
- Worship and languages
- Education, volunteers, and staff
Growth and congregational change
Greater Grand Rapids had 518 religious congregations in 2017, up from 471 in 2007. That was a net increase of 47 congregations, or a 10% rise, according to the Greater Grand Rapids Study of Congregations. The urban area’s population grew by about 3% during the same decade, so congregational growth outpaced population growth.
The net figure does not mean that every existing congregation continued operating. About 26% of congregations that existed in 2007 no longer operated by the 2017 study. At the same time, 168 new congregations opened since 2007. Those new congregations represented 36% growth relative to the prior church base.
The study’s survey interviewed leaders from 348 congregations. Those interviews covered about two-thirds of the 532 congregations identified in the study area. The 518-congregation figure and the 532 identified congregations therefore describe different parts of the study’s counting and interview process.
More than 71% of new congregations were Evangelical or Pentecostal. About 57% were predominantly Hispanic or Black. Together, these figures point to a pattern of institutional turnover and new church formation linked to both religious tradition and the changing communities of the urban area.
Traditions and new congregations
Evangelical congregations were the largest tradition in the study area, with 169 churches, or 33% of all congregations. Evangelical churches accounted for 37% of the new congregations established since 2007.
Pentecostal congregations totaled 128 churches, or 25% of the total. They accounted for 34% of new congregations. Dutch Reformed congregations totaled 91 churches, or 18% of the study area, and represented 13% of new congregations.
Mainline congregations totaled 53 churches, or 10% of the total, but accounted for only 3% of new congregations. Catholic congregations totaled 24 churches, or 5% of the total, and no new Catholic congregations were established in the prior decade. The “Other” category included 44 congregations, or 8% of the total, and represented 8% of newly established churches.
| Congregational tradition | Total churches | Share of all congregations | Share of new congregations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evangelical | 169 | 33% | 37% |
| Pentecostal | 128 | 25% | 34% |
| Dutch Reformed | 91 | 18% | 13% |
| Mainline | 53 | 10% | 3% |
| Catholic | 24 | 5% | 0% |
| Other | 44 | 8% | 8% |
The percentages in the study describe different denominators: the tradition shares refer to all congregations, while the new-congregation shares refer to churches established since 2007. They should be read as measures of presence and recent formation, not as a single ranking of congregational vitality.
Population and congregational diversity
The Greater Grand Rapids Study of Congregations reported that Hispanic residents made up about 16% of the urban area population, while Hispanic congregations made up 19% of congregations in the study area. In Wyoming, the Hispanic population increased from 11,549 in 2007 to 15,623 in 2016 and reached 21% of the city’s total population in 2016. Hispanic churches made up 27% of all congregations in Wyoming and 38% of its new congregations.
In Kentwood, Black congregations made up 29% of congregations. Kentwood’s Black population increased from 5,044 in 2007 to 9,215 in 2016, a rise of more than 80%. The study’s broader finding that about 57% of new congregations were predominantly Hispanic or Black places these local population shifts alongside the pattern of church formation.
Asian residents made up about 3% of the study area population, while Asian congregations made up 4% of congregations. The Asian population in Greater Grand Rapids grew from 8,315 in 2007 to 10,308 in 2016, a 24% increase. Predominantly Asian congregations increased from 9 to 21 churches since 2007. Asian congregations accounted for 8% of new congregations in the study area and 17% of new congregations in Kentwood.
White residents made up 61% of Greater Grand Rapids’ population, while White congregations made up 49% of the urban area’s congregations. The White population fell from 200,399 in 2007 to 194,835 in 2016, a decline of about 3%. White churches accounted for 27% of new congregations in the urban area. In Kentwood, White residents declined by 9%, from 33,480 in 2007 to 30,315 in 2016, while White churches accounted for one-third of new congregations there.
Age, size, and regular attendance
The average age of congregations in the urban area was 44 years. Thirty percent were 10 years old or younger, 35% were between 11 and 50 years old, and 35% were 51 years old or older. The oldest interviewed congregation was 182 years old.
Congregational age varied substantially by tradition. Catholic congregations had the highest average age, at 112 years, followed by Mainline congregations at 81 years and Dutch Reformed congregations at 57 years. Pentecostal congregations had an average age of 10 years. Black churches averaged 30 years; within that group, Black Mainline congregations averaged 73 years, Black Pentecostal congregations 24 years, and Black Evangelical congregations 27 years.
Regular attendance also varied by congregational tradition. All congregations had a median size of 90 regular attendees. White congregations had a median of 163 regular attendees, compared with 60 for Black congregations, 56 for Hispanic congregations, and 90 for Asian congregations.
| Congregational group | Median regular attendees |
|---|---|
| Catholic | 1,000 |
| White | 163 |
| Dutch Reformed | 145 |
| Mainline | 120 |
| Asian | 90 |
| Evangelical | 85 |
| Black | 60 |
| Hispanic | 56 |
| Pentecostal | 53 |
More than half of congregations, 51%, had fewer than 100 regular attenders. Another 32% were medium-sized, with 100 to 399 regular participants, while 17% were large, with more than 400 regular participants. These categories help explain how a high overall median for some traditions can coexist with a large number of small urban congregations.
Worship and languages
Forty-two percent of leaders reported one worship service per week, 31% reported two services, and 27% reported three or more weekly worship services. Among congregations with multiple services, 61% used different worship styles.
Across the study area, 60% of congregations held worship services in English only. Twelve percent held services in Spanish only, another 12% held services in both Spanish and English, and 16% held services in other languages.
Language patterns were more concentrated within some congregational communities. Fifty-five percent of Hispanic congregations held services in Spanish only. Among Asian congregations, 55% held services in languages spoken in Myanmar, while 36% held services in English and another language.
The study also measured small-group activity. About six small-group meetings per week was the typical average across congregations. White congregations averaged nine small-group meetings per week, while congregations of color averaged three. The figures describe reported weekly meeting patterns, not the number of people participating in those groups.
Education, volunteers, and staff
Religious education was common across the congregations surveyed. Eighty-four percent offered classes for children 12 and younger, 71% offered classes for teenagers, 36% offered classes for young adults or college students, and 83% offered classes for adults of any age. Catholic congregations were especially likely to offer weekly classes for children, at 93%.
Volunteer systems were also widespread. Eighty-four percent of congregations offered formal volunteer training, and 70% of leaders reported formal background checks on volunteers. The study also reported that 58% of congregations formally trained volunteers, while 84% had at least one person performing staff work as an unpaid volunteer. These are separate measures in the study and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Sixty-four percent of congregations had at least one full-time paid staff member. The share was 83% among Catholic congregations, 73% among Asian congregations, 47% among Black congregations, and 44% among Hispanic congregations. Thirty-six percent of all congregations had no part-time paid staff.
Unpaid leadership was common in several traditions. Ninety-four percent of Pentecostal congregations had at least one unpaid volunteer staff member, as did 93% of Catholic congregations. Half of all leaders reported at least one volunteer clergyperson, pastor, or ministerial leader, and 80% of Pentecostal leaders reported a volunteer pastor in their congregation.
Taken together, these urban church statistics describe a Greater Grand Rapids congregational landscape that was growing in total number during the 2007–2017 period, while also experiencing closures, new church formation, demographic change, varied congregation sizes, multilingual worship, and extensive reliance on volunteers.