So What Faith

Greg Smith

The Median Presbyterian (PCUSA) Congregation (#2029)

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The narrative of Mainline Protestant decline is well established. Few people, however, understand how that decline has impacted the typical congregation in any given denomination.

PC(USA) Decline

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is the denomination I have been associated with longer than any other. In the past, I’ve shared extensively about the topic of PC(USA) membership decline, including

Today’s Median Congregation

As of December 31, 2021, the PC(USA) reports its median congregation

Westfork Presbyterian Church, 2017 (photo by Greg Smith)
  • Members: 65
  • Members Aged 56 or older: 57.6% (567,106 of the 984,437 reporting age data)
  • White Members: 88.1% (856,296 of the 971,645 reporting racial ethnic diversity data)
  • Worship Attendance: 35
  • Income: $151,468
  • Personnel Expenses: $83,887

So What?

It is challenging to lead a thriving local church in 2023, and it is markedly more challenging to successfully lead a small church. When the median congregation has 35 people in worship, it is clear that most churches are small churches.

I invite you to take a look at the picture above. Those gathered for worship (including the musicians and other worship leaders not pictured) total just shy of 35 people.

Questions

Take a few minutes to reflect on how decades of decline has impacted the median congregation.

  • How large is your congregation (current membership and average weekly worship attendance)? How do those numbers compare to 10, 25 and 50 years ago?
  • What is your initial reaction to the current median size PC(USA) congregation?
  • Given the rapid growth in small congregations, what are two or three changes you’d suggest as helpful for the future of the denomination?

Additional Resources

To learn more about the trend in the shrinking size of the median church beyond the PC(USA check out