Yet small congregations are surprisingly faithful. The FACT survey found small congregations have the highest percentage of members in church each Sunday. They give the highest amount per capita to the church and are more likely to volunteer.
And since small churches often have part-time or unpaid clergy, they also spend less on staffing, which frees up their budget for missions and local ministry.
As a single 27-year-old, [Caleb] Fugate has the time and energy to invest up to 70 hours each week in three separate ministries, but he feels the stretch. The church in Clymer has some families with teenagers, so they need a youth ministry. Growing ministries need more time from their pastors, but with three ministries depending on him, there is only so much he can do.
“It is a strenuous job,” Fugate admits.
Diamondville United Methodist resides in a town of 200; the church ’s 20 attendees make up 10 percent of the local population. Fugate admits the church is not thinking about growing, something the FACT survey found common among the smallest churches. But the congregation wants to give as much as it can to the community while the church is still around.
All churches, regardless of size, have gifts for their communities. My latest for @CTmagazine and @CT_Pastors looking at data from the @HartfordInt FACT 2020 survey.https://t.co/AhhxSrkWvD
— Megan Fowler (@Fowl_Words) April 6, 2022