Yesterday I attended the 27-year celebration of Clement Presbyterian Church. Clement is a Latinx congregation located in Cicero, a near west suburb. Although Clement has 45 members, there were over 130 in worship! Furthermore, six new members were added! What a joy to be part of their celebration and demonstrate the presbytery’s support.
Clement has the characteristics of a growing congregation in the Presbytery of Chicago. It is small (less than 100 in worship), located in the west suburbs, and is majority people of color(POC). Chicago is a presbytery of small congregations. According to the Faith Communities Today study, there are advantages to being a smaller congregation.
As I’ve combed through the statistics of the Presbytery of Chicago, I have focused on the numbers from the past 5 years. Presbyteries have a difficult time collecting data from congregations. Some congregations go years without reporting their membership numbers while others hardly ever report their attendance. Given these limitations here are some takeaways from the past 5 years:
Geography and Growth
46 of 80 congregations experienced growth at least once in the past 5 years (57%).
11 congregations experienced growth 2 out of 5 years (14%).
5 congregations experienced growth 3 out of 5 years.
The presbytery has 19 congregations that are majority POC.
12 POC congregations grew 1 in 5 years (63%).
|
Area |
# of Congregations |
Membership | |
Growth 1/5yrs | |
Growth 2/5yrs | |
Growth 3/5yrs |
|
|
Chicago |
22 |
7041 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
North/NW Suburbs |
31 |
9336 |
11 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
West Suburbs |
20 |
6586 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
South Suburbs |
7 |
798 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
×
|
Most congregations and members are in the north/northwest suburbs.
Presbyterians are growing fastest in the west suburbs with 65% of congregations growing over 5 years, and 10% growing in 3 out of 5 years.
We are in danger of losing our Presbyterian presence in the south suburbs.
|
Membership size |
Number of Congregations |
|
Under 100 |
37 |
|
100-250 |
19 |
|
251-500 |
11 |
|
Over 500 |
13 |
The presbytery has 37 congregations with less than 100 members.
On any given Sunday morning, the preacher sees an average of 72 people in the pews.
Most Presbyterians are in large congregations with 51% belonging to 10% (8) congregations.
When ranking congregations by size, the largest congregation is larger than the smallest 58 congregations (75%) combined.
My final blog on this topic will be strategies for the future for congregations in the Presbytery of Chicago.
Rev. Craig M. Howard