Beneath the membership count
Signals of vitality.
Membership is the headline, but it hides more than it shows. Three quieter measures — who actually worships, who is making new disciples, and how much property a church carries per member — say more about a congregation’s life than its roll. Drawn from 182 active churches with 25+ members, through 2024.
Against the odds
Growing against the odds.
Some congregations thrive where the demographics are hardest, while others decline in the most favorable settings. This analysis maps every church's community context against its worship trajectory to find them.
Bright-spots analysis
Plots every church's community context against its trajectory to surface the congregations growing where the odds are hardest. Enter the access code to view.
Enter access codeThe engagement gap
A quarter of the membership is in the room.
Across the conference, average worship attendance has fallen from 39% of membership in 2010 to 25% in 2024. The roll shrinks slowly; the room empties faster.
Making disciples
New faith, not just retained members.
Professions of faith and baptisms per 100 members — the rate a church is adding new disciples, smoothed over three years. The median church adds 1.0 per 100 members a year. Fruitfulness is not the same as size.
Property and people
Carrying buildings the membership can't fill.
The conference's active churches hold $803M in property. Measured per member, the load varies enormously — the median is $13,331 per member. The churches below carry the most real estate for the fewest people: the stewardship question the conference will keep facing.
Source: GCFA local-church statistical tables. Rates use each church’s most recent reported figures (discipleship smoothed over the last three reported years). Churches under 25members are excluded so small denominators don’t distort the ratios.