Church size...

[wil]

There exists a theory on church sizes. ie the size of the congration vs. the number of seats available.

It sort of goes like this...

Church congregations are like goldfish, they will grow to the size of the fishbowl.

Now this is mostly for churches with one service. When a church has multiple services the main service will be similar to this.

You tell me if your church fits the mold.


Innercity, Urban folks are used to tight quarters and will fill about 80-90% of the seats. Fewer and folks feel the church service is not well attended.

Suburbia likes a little room to sprawl and the optimum number is about 70% occupied.

Country folks like their room and 50% is about max congregation size, any more and it is overcrowded, we'll go find a church that isn't so full all the time.

Our church has been steadily growing over the years and has sort of capped out at 140 +/- any given Sunday (can't count Mother's Day, Easter, or Christmastime) So now we've added another 30 chairs...we'll see how the theory works...

 

[Quahom1]

There exists a theory on church sizes. ie the size of the congration vs. the number of seats available.

It sort of goes like this...

Church congregations are like goldfish, they will grow to the size of the fishbowl.

Now this is mostly for churches with one service. When a church has multiple services the main service will be similar to this.

You tell me if your church fits the mold.


Innercity, Urban folks are used to tight quarters and will fill about 80-90% of the seats. Fewer and folks feel the church service is not well attended.

Suburbia likes a little room to sprawl and the optimum number is about 70% occupied.

Country folks like their room and 50% is about max congregation size, any more and it is overcrowded, we'll go find a church that isn't so full all the time.

Our church has been steadily growing over the years and has sort of capped out at 140 +/- any given Sunday (can't count Mother's Day, Easter, or Christmastime) So now we've added another 30 chairs...we'll see how the theory works...

Parishes, or congregations? Or "The church body"?

Last I understood, the "church" is the whole of the Christian body...while its followers are broken up into smaller units due to location, and such...

 

[path_of_one]

The church I attend, when I go, is over 100 years old and there is no way they are going to change a historic sanctuary for the size of the crowd. They currently have two services. Can't speak for the early one, but the 10 am is generally well attended and fills to about 80% capacity. On any sort of popular day, though, you have to show up about a half hour early to get a seat and it's crammed with people. This is because it is a rather Celtic-flavored Episcopal church and the public at large likes to go when it is Mother's Day (they do bagpipe mass and Celtic dances afterward), St. Francis (when the priest blesses our pets), the Kirken O the Tartans (when the priest blesses the clans and tartans), Easter, and Christmas. I think more people go to those because they are just plain fun and cultural, not just religious, events.

The church is in the burbs, about a half hour from my little rural community. Here in town we only have SDA and a community church, neither of which is my cup o' tea.