Figure 1 – Total Attendance and Membership by Church Size
Figure 1 shows the basic total attendance and membership breakdown for the various weekly attendee groupings of the West Ohio Annual Conference. On average, each weekly attendance group has 9,451 attendees. Furthermore, the red bar and blue bar combined represents the total membership per size category. For example, there are 12,641 total weekly attendees and 23,479 members attributed to all churches that fall within Group 1-49.
The largest section of membership is captured in churches with 1 and 149 weekly attendees with 48% of the conference’s total membership. Additionally, West Ohio churches below 50 weekly attendees make up 13% of total conference membership. Similarly, churches …show more content…
A large majority, 74%, of the conference’s 1029 churches, are composed of fewer than 100 weekly attendees. In fact, 46% of churches contain fewer than 50 weekly attendees and account for 12% of the conference’s total weekly attendance. 22 churches boast more than 500 weekly attendants and account for 20% of the conference’s total weekly attendance. Compared to other UMC conferences, a large amount of West Ohio's attendees are found in small to medium churches.
Table 1 – The Average West Ohio Church
Table 1 shows that the average West Ohio church has 100 weekly attendees and spends approximately $192,000 per year. The average church in the West Ohio Annual Conference is larger compared to the national average. Although the conference is ranked 12th in average attendance with 13 more weekly attendees, it also has a relatively lower number of members per church with the average membership-to-attendee ratio just under …show more content…
For example, in 2014 West Ohio increased by 6,883 new inflowing members. However, during the same year, West Ohio lost 18,483 outflowing members. While both figures are decreasing over time, outflow has remained historically larger than inflows. Additionally, the percentage of inflows and outflows per total membership remain fairly stable. The conference lost an average 10.5% of its members every year. During the same time, the conference gained an average 3.9% of its membership.
Figure 3 – Attendees per New Member Figure 3 illustrates how many attendees it takes to gain one new member, excluding corrections. As more and more people in a church proselytize, the number will become smaller and the church will grow in membership. Hence, a lower number is better. Figure 3 shows that most of the conference’s churches float around the conference average of 17 attendees per new member, except for the smallest and largest churches.
The churches, grouped into five main plateaus based on their attendee-per-new member ratio, are shown in the best to worst category. The figure expresses these plateaus by the color of the bar -- the better the ratio the lighter the associated
Figure 1 shows the basic total attendance and membership breakdown for the various weekly attendee groupings of the West Ohio Annual Conference. On average, each weekly attendance group has 9,451 attendees. Furthermore, the red bar and blue bar combined represents the total membership per size category. For example, there are 12,641 total weekly attendees and 23,479 members attributed to all churches that fall within Group 1-49.
The largest section of membership is captured in churches with 1 and 149 weekly attendees with 48% of the conference’s total membership. Additionally, West Ohio churches below 50 weekly attendees make up 13% of total conference membership. Similarly, churches …show more content…
A large majority, 74%, of the conference’s 1029 churches, are composed of fewer than 100 weekly attendees. In fact, 46% of churches contain fewer than 50 weekly attendees and account for 12% of the conference’s total weekly attendance. 22 churches boast more than 500 weekly attendants and account for 20% of the conference’s total weekly attendance. Compared to other UMC conferences, a large amount of West Ohio's attendees are found in small to medium churches.
Table 1 – The Average West Ohio Church
Table 1 shows that the average West Ohio church has 100 weekly attendees and spends approximately $192,000 per year. The average church in the West Ohio Annual Conference is larger compared to the national average. Although the conference is ranked 12th in average attendance with 13 more weekly attendees, it also has a relatively lower number of members per church with the average membership-to-attendee ratio just under …show more content…
For example, in 2014 West Ohio increased by 6,883 new inflowing members. However, during the same year, West Ohio lost 18,483 outflowing members. While both figures are decreasing over time, outflow has remained historically larger than inflows. Additionally, the percentage of inflows and outflows per total membership remain fairly stable. The conference lost an average 10.5% of its members every year. During the same time, the conference gained an average 3.9% of its membership.
Figure 3 – Attendees per New Member Figure 3 illustrates how many attendees it takes to gain one new member, excluding corrections. As more and more people in a church proselytize, the number will become smaller and the church will grow in membership. Hence, a lower number is better. Figure 3 shows that most of the conference’s churches float around the conference average of 17 attendees per new member, except for the smallest and largest churches.
The churches, grouped into five main plateaus based on their attendee-per-new member ratio, are shown in the best to worst category. The figure expresses these plateaus by the color of the bar -- the better the ratio the lighter the associated