What is a typical church? 

Statistically speaking, every church is different. There are PCA churches that average 85 people in weekly attendance, while some congregations are large enough to have 85 elders and deacons. 

Every year, the Administrative Committee encourages churches to submit their church statistics, which the AC compiles and maintains. The reporting is voluntary, and there is no mechanism for verifying the accuracy or quality of the statistics provided. Nevertheless, enough churches update their records every year to offer a helpful glimpse of growth dynamics across the denomination. 

What is the size of a typical PCA church? Based on the most recently submitted data, here’s a statistical perspective:

• Membership: 125 (communing and non-communing members combined)
• Annual membership growth: 5 new members
• Weekly attendance: 115
• Annual tithes and offerings: $315,420

Membership

Half of all PCA churches have a membership of 125 or fewer. Of the 1,716 churches reporting statistics, 68% have below 200 members. Any church with 500 or more members would be in the top 10% of churches, with only 47 churches having more than 1,000 members. 

Annual growth

The typical church gains five new members every year, while also losing some to death, transfer, and removal from roll. On average, congregations gained nine members and lost four. The typical church baptizes one adult every year. Only 34 churches reported total annual additions of 100 or more people. 

Weekly attendance

For some congregations, weekly attendance is larger than its membership, but for most, attendance is usually a smaller number than total membership. Approximately 500 churches reported having weekly attendance greater than 150 people, while only 200 churches exceeded 300.

Tithes and Offerings

Tithes represent the amount of money a church collects apart from special causes and building funds. Churches collecting more than $1,000,000 are in the top 15% of churches. Churches collecting less than $200,000 make up 42% of PCA congregations. 

Of course, statistics are only one angle of looking at a church. The size of a church’s membership, attendance, or giving is not by itself an indicator of its health. Churches don’t have ways of reporting dynamics like the vibrancy of its fellowship or its passion for the Great Commission. Even when it comes to statistics, numbers can often be influenced by local demographic trends. Nevertheless, these numbers provide insight as to what can be considered typical.