Small Membership Church
A denomination of small churches
The United Methodist Church is a denomination of small churches. Many of the United Methodist Church’s congregations are rural, and the denomination is more widespread in rural areas than nearly any other church.
Some facts about United Methodist small churches
- 50% of United Methodist churches have average worship attendance of under 55
- 83% of United Methodist churches have average worship attendance of under 150
- United Methodist congregations with under 50 members on roll are 22% of all United Methodist churches
- United Methodist churches with under 200 members on roll are 67% of the total UM churches*
- On any given Sunday, some 75% of American churches have less than 90 people at worship
- 50% have less than 35.**
- Almost every United Methodist pastor will lead a smaller congregation at some time in their ministry; many will spend their entire ministry in smaller membership churches.
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*Statistics from GCOM Research for 2000–2001
**from Inside the Small Church, Pappa
Resources
The Conference Small Membership Church Committee, Mari Clark, chair, (518) 477-9693.
Small Membership Church resources, General Board of Discipleship
A listing of resources, articles and links for congregations with membership of less than 100.
The United Methodist Rural Fellowship
The United Methodist Rural Fellowship is a United Methodist lobbying group that deals directly with issues that relate to small membership churches, rural communities, and local pastors.
Town and Country Ministries, General Board of Global Ministries
The Office of Town and Country Ministries offers resources for the 20,000 United Methodist congregations, totaling 2.9 million members, that are located in cities, towns and villages with populations of up to 50,000 or where the population is 250 people or fewer per square mile.
