How do the size and growth statistics for Churches of Christ in the United States compare with the size and growth statistics for other American religious groups?

Churches of Christ have experienced very little growth in the United States in the 1990s. The following figures are from the directory compiled by Mac Lynn in 1990.2

It is important to consider the questions of size and growth rate together because they are related. In a large religious group, a big change in the number of congregations, members, or adherents3 translates into a rather small growth rate -- so growth rates are considered by size. In 1990, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies included 133 denominations, non-denominational fellowships, and other religious group categories in the book Churches and Church Membership in the United States 1990.4 Fifteen of these have one million or more adherents. Together they account for 81.6 percent of all the reported adherents. The 22 groups with 100,000 to 999,999 adherents account for an additional 4.9 percent. The 80 other groups have fewer than 100,000 adherents and account for only 1.2 percent of all the reported adherents. Churches of Christ are smaller than the 11 largest religious groups in the United States, but larger than 121 others. All three of the heirs of what some historians have called the "Stone -- Campbell Restoration Movement' are on the list of the 15 largest religious groups in the nation. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) no longer advocates the restoration plea. However, the two other heirs of the Restoration Movement still advocate the restoration plea and are quite similar in theology. The most obvious difference is that the group known as "Christian Churches and Churches of Christ" uses instrumental music in congregational worship and the fellowship known as "Churches of Christ" does not. There is, however, more diversity within each of these fellowships than there is between the two. Many denominations that church statisticians count as single units have far more internal differences than those between these two fellowships. There is, therefore, some justification for looking at combined totals. Taken together, these two heirs of the Restoration Movement had 2,894,202 adherents in this nation in 1990 and only six religious groups were larger, as shown in Table 2.

Among the 15 largest religious groups in the nation, the Assemblies of God have been the fastest-growing for the past two decades, as shown in Table 3. Their growth rate, however, fell from 70 percent in the 1970s to less than 35 percent in the 1980s. Furthermore, in the 1980s, population grew by 11.2 percent and only four of America's largest religious groups grew at a rate faster than the population. In the 1980s, there were only five of the 15 largest religious groups in the nation that grew faster than the Churches of Christ and one of those was the Christian Churches known in some localities as Churches of Christ. Nine had a lower growth rate and, in fact, eight actually declined in the 1980s.5

The bad news some have reported about Churches of Christ is that membership has declined from 2.5 million in 1965 to less than 1.3 million in 1980. The truth is that the 1965 figure was only an estimate of how many people in the nation would list a "Church of Christ" preference if anyone ever asked them. Less than half of such people are actually identified with a local congregation. Furthermore, the 1965 estimate was exaggerated. The 1980 figure of just under 1.3 million was not an estimate concerning "church preference." It was an actual count of how many are identified with local congregations. The truth is that Churches of Christ in the United States have not declined in the number of congregations, members, or adherents. What has declined has been the rate of growth. There has been very little growth since 1980 and most of that reported growth can be attributed to the Discipling Movement which is no longer in fellowship with other Churches of Christ.

The good news is that Churches of Christ are not declining as some reported. The bad news is that they are not growing and have not been growing for over 13 years. It is not that we do not know how or that we do not have the necessary resources. We have the man power; we have the money power; we have the brain power; and, most of all, we have the power of God. All that we lack is the will power.

FOOTNOTES

1. My preference, when writing about the spiritual fellowship of all the saved, is to describe it as the "church of Christ" (note the small "c" in the word "church"). However, when the subject is an identifiable religious group listed in almanacs, yearbooks, or other such reports of church statistics, my preference is to describe it as "Churches of Christ" -- just the way it is listed in those reference works. This style, however, does not reflect the belief that the New Testament church was denominational or that the church today should be denominational.

2. Mac Lynn, Churches of Christ in the United States (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1991), p. xviii.

3. Church statisticians use the number of adherents to compare the relative size of religious groups that count membership in different ways. The adherents include all of the members plus their children who attend church but who are not yet baptized.

4. Martin B. Bradley, Norman M. Green, Jr., Dale E. Jones, Mac Lynn, and Lou McNeil, Churches and Church Membership in the United States 1990 (Atlanta: Glenmary, 1991).

5. In the two smaller size categories, there were some that did not report decadal growth rates. Twenty of the 22 groups with 100,000 to 999,999 adherents reported 1980 and 1990 figures on the number of adherents. In this size category which accounts for 4.9 percent of all adherents, a relatively small change in numbers results in a relatively large change in percentages. Still, only 13 of these smaller denominations had a better growth rate than the Churches of Christ; seven had a lower growth rate and five actually declined. Only 43 of the 80 smallest denominations reported 1980 and 1990 figures on the number of adherents. This size category accounts for only 1.2 percent of all adherents. In these smallest denominations, a very small increase in numbers is reflected in a very large growth rate percentage. Still, however, only 18 of these smallest denominations grew faster than the Churches of Christ; 25 had a lower growth rate; 19 actually declined.