Methodism’s Largest Churches
I recently received the list of every United Methodist Church with more than 60 in weekly worship attendance. The General Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church collects this information. The data is 15 months old, but is the most current information available. I thought you might find some of this interesting.
There are somewhere around 33,000 United Methodist Churches in the United States. 14,423 have more than 60 per weekend in worship, and approximately 19,000 have less than 60 in weekly worship attendance. I meet with the pastors of the top 100 churches every year to discuss ways that we can be a part of the renewal of our denomination. Last year the 100th largest church had 1,280 per Sunday in worship attendance. This year the 100th largest has 1,299 per weekend – which tells me that the largest churches in the denomination are getting larger. This is seen at the top of that list as well. We now have 8 churches with over 4,000 per weekend in worship attendance – several years ago there were only 5 churches in that size.
The top ten by worship attendance:
Church name: Metro Area/ State: Pastor’s name : Worship att:
Church of the Resurrection Kansas City, KS Adam Hamilton 7,430
Windsor Village Houston, TX KirbyJon Caldwell 5,813
Granger Community South Bend, IN Mark Beeson 5,241
Gingahmsburg Dayton, OH Mike Slaughter 4,883
Frazer Memorial Montgomery, AL Tim Thompson 4,392
The Woodlands Houston, TX Ed Robb 4,081
White’s Chapel Dallas, TX John McKellar 4,040
Highland Park Dallas, TX Mark Craig 4,000
Asbury Tulsa, OK Tom Harrison 3,349
Mt. Bethel Atlanta, GA Randy Mickler 3,100*
Some define “megachurches” (a term I do not like) as congregations with 2,000 or more in worship attendance. There are 27 United Methodist Churches with 2,000 or more in attendance, 12 with 3,000 or more in attendance and, as noted above, 8 with 4,000 or more in attendance. One of every 20 people who attend a United Methodist Church on any given weekend attend one of the 100 largest churches. I’m guessing GCFA has a great deal more analysis of this data that they’ve done that might be of interest.
One final word – the size of United Methodist congregations used to be measured in terms of membership. Few use that data as a benchmark any more. UM churches have different standards and expectations for membership hence the numbers are virtually meaningless. One of the top ten churches has 3 times more members than worship attendees, and another has 3 times as many attendees as members. These two churches have very different expectations of their members. The actual number of people showing up for worship is a better way to measure the size of a congregation. Having said that, in metro areas (I cannot speak to whether this trend occurs in rural areas) most active participants in church attend worship only about two times a month. This means that the actual number of regular worshipers is likely twice the average worship attendance. Hence a church with an average attendance of 2,000 per weekend likely has 4,000 regular attendees.
* I learned that the list as originally published was in error. The GCFA report lists Christ Church, Charleston WVA as having over 3,000 in attendance but I’m told that was an error. The list above would appear to be correct.
7 Comment(s)
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.
Chris J. | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Interesting stats, Pastor Adam. I see that 6 of the top 10 large UMCs are in the south. Is there data that correlates more southerners attending Christian worship over and above mid western, northern, Pacific coast or Atlantic coast dwellers? Maybe southerners seem to be more accepting of larger churches?
You stated that you meet annually with the pastors of the top 100 UMCs to discuss renewal of denomination. Why just top 100? Why not have pastors from any/all UMCs attend (if possible)? Do those 100 pastors that you meet with in turn meet with 25, 50 or 100 smaller church pastors in their areas?
Given the predominance of larger UMCs in the south, and if you’re only meeting with the top 100 pastors, does that mean more focus is being spent on southern state churches that are already seeing positive growth? Should more focus be spent on other geographic areas regardless of church size?
Not criticizing, just reading into the data. I love my faith and walk with Jesus. I love COR. I want more people to grow in their faith. Thanks for the great posts!
Andrew Conard | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Adam – Thanks for sharing these stats. It is interesting to look at the top 10 and consider the differences among the styles of both worship and ministry at these locations. I appreciate your comments about worship attendance being a meaningful statistic unlike membership due to different standards. I wonder if there are any other meaningful metrics that would be comparable across churches with different styles of ministry – giving and budget would depend somewhat on the socio-economic surroundings; small groups may look different in different locations; adult professions of faith may be a clear metric that would also be interesting to compare. It would provide some insight into the evangelism efforts of the congregation.
Chris J. – I love your idea of each of the top 100 pastors in turn meeting with a cohort of pastors from other churches in the area. As you point out, this may weight more heavily toward particular areas however it would be a way of multiplying impact. Good stuff!
Revurso | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Adam, I agree with what you had to say. Personally I keep track of worship attendance on a monthly basis. So, if you are coming month after month we track you. Our average attendance following the old weekly system would have been around 95. Our average attendance following our monthly calculations is 150. This more accurately represents the folks who we minister to and who call our church home.
Anita Genrich | May 14, 2010 | Reply
Thank you for this information. I am one of the small size churches (rural one in Merrimac, WI – average attendance is 60+.
I appreciate your (Adam) leadership and heart for God. I have had the opportunity to watch you serve faithfully as COR has grown over the past 10 years and hear you preach live since I attend COS-SPST annually – graduating this summer. We have used your teaching sermons for Small Group studies for which I am grateful. Some of my church members have listened to your sermons/series. You are a gifted man of God who is using your gifts to honor God and God’s Kingdom through the Wesleyan, UMC way. THANK YOU!
Adam | May 14, 2010 | Reply
Hello, Chris – thanks for your note. Our initiative with the 100 largest churches is only one of many efforts Resurrection is working on. We have asked each of the 100 to work to mentor and encourage leaders and churches that are smaller than the churches they serve. Many are doing this in a variety of ways. Great questions – thanks!
Adam
Grady | May 16, 2010 | Reply
Great list, Adam. Never miss a chance to beat your won drum!
We know you are a great man!
Say, remember those two pastors you wrote the public letter about last summer? How do you think they are doing?
Adam | May 16, 2010 | Reply
Hello, Grady – did not intend to beat my own drum – I hesitated to post this list for that reason. I did find it interesting to see the list from GCFA and thought others might as well. I do not consider myself a great man. I do see myself as fortunate and blessed to get to serve at Resurrection. Blessings, Grady!
Adam