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Local churches reflect national trend: Bigger congregations, bigger rebound
A new Hartford Institute for Religion Research study finds the largest congregations are drawing more visitors, growing more diverse and reshaping how people engage with worship
By Emma Ledbetter | FāVS News Reporter
The larger the church, the more its attendance has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, at least according to a recent Hartford Institute for Religion Research study.
First Presbyterian Church of Spokane is one such church.
“People who had been part of churches reflexively — because they’d always been part of that church or that denomination or that tradition — during the pandemic, began to look around,” Senior Pastor John Sowers said. “There was some shifting that went on.”
Megachurches, defined in the study as having 2,000 or more attenders, and large churches, with 1,000 or more attenders, attract more new visitors and have seen a greater post-pandemic resurgence in attendance than their smaller counterparts.
Nearly 60% of Protestant worshippers go to the top 10% of churches in terms of size, said study author Scott Thumma.
“A large number of these biggest churches are engaged in their community, they are quite diverse and becoming even more multi-racial, they have increased their efforts to do small-groups, discipleship and mentoring, and are attracting younger people all the time,” Thumma said.
Shifting engagement
More people are attending church now than five years ago, but they are likely coming less frequently, as weekly attendance has stayed about the same, the study found.
“The larger the church, the less strong the ties are of individuals to that church,” Thumma said. “But, because [large churches] have such resources and spend so much time and energy doing quality worship, they have also been the most likely to attract new people into the congregation.”
Bellevue Presbyterian Church, or BelPres, has maintained its 4,000-person congregation, with about 1,500 people attending in-person each Sunday, said Executive Pastor Annie Duncan. But attendance patterns have shifted. Some congregants who used to attend three out of four weekends a month now only attend two weekends a month, making room for others. There are still many faithful congregants who attend every weekend.
Many congregants are engaging in ways other than Sunday worship, such as through the small group ministry BelPres launched during the pandemic to fuel connection.
“That was a huge win for COVID,” Duncan said. “We had never been a small group church. We ran a lot of programs, but never really had widespread small group ministry. During COVID that was what we did … and that has sustained.”
Young adults and young families make up a large portion of the influx of new congregants, Duncan said.
First Presbyterian Church of Spokane also saw an influx of young families, people joining from Whitworth University and retired people who moved from outside the Spokane region, Sowers said.
Having an online worship option, which Sowers’ church still offers, has allowed people to try out new churches without the nervousness of walking into the building, he said.
Increasing diversity
Nearly two-thirds of megachurches are now considered multiracial, meaning at least 20% of the congregation is not of the majority race of the church, Thumma said. Only one-fifth of megachurches were multiracial in 2000.
BelPres is a multicultural church, offering as part of its bevy of worship services traditional, contemporary, Chinese and East African options, Duncan said.
The church has started a new program called One Roof, that brings people together from the various services to share a meal, worship and read Scripture in all different languages.
Looking outward
Churches of all sizes have been looking outward more by opening their buildings to other organizations, partnering with community non-profits, and offering civic programs. This outward turn did not reach the largest churches until the pandemic, Thumma said.
“I think some of that openness has been driven by the realization that even with all of their resources, there are issues in society,” he said. “There are other players out there that are doing things and if the megachurch partners with [them], they can have a larger impact on society.”
Spokane First Presbyterian shares its facility with First Presbyterian Christian School and Barton English Language School, a nonprofit that has been offering one-on-one English tutoring for refugees and immigrants for over 50 years. One of the church’s main focuses is supporting immigrants, refugees and the organizations that support them, Sowers said.
“We’re a 24/7 church: We’ve got things going on all the time,” Sowers said.
Hartford Institute for Religion Research is a FāVS sponsor.
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