Improving Church Plant Survivability

Leadership Network recently gave several reports on the state of church planting USA

From the reported titled “Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches (if you have problems getting the full report let me know and I will attached it with an e-mail) the following observation were made.

“Certain factors, when present, correlate with higher baptisms (the report does not suggest baptism is a mean of salvation, but is using it as a mean of measuring a decision and some spiritual growth). Over 100 factors were tested and the following were found to be statistically significant:
- Engaging in ministry evangelism (i.e. food banks, shelter, drug/alcohol recover)
- Starting at least one daughter church within three years of the church plant
- Having a proactive stewardship development plan enabling the church to be financially self-sufficient
- Conducting a mid-week children’s program
- Sending out mailers for invitation to services and church events
- Conducting a block party as an outreach activity
- Conducting a new member class for new church members
- Conducting leadership training for church members
- Receiving church-planting training in terms of a boot camp or basic training by the church planter
- Working full-time over part-time as the church planter
- Being assed prior to the beginning of the church plan as the church planter
- Delegating leadership roles to church members.

“Interestingly, the chance of survivability increases by over 400% when the church planter has a ‘realistic’ understanding and expectation of the church-planting experience. On the other hand, conducting door-to-door or cold-calling evangelism in church planting decreases the odds of survivability by 59%.”

“The NAMB study also focused on the value of peer groups. Odds of survivability increase by 135% when the church planter meets with a group of church planting peers.”

Stephen Gray is a researcher who compared 60 fast-growing church plants with 52 struggling church plants. Here is some of what he found (his book is Planting Fast Growing Churches)
- 88% have church planting teams
- 63% have a core group of 26 to 75 people
- 75% use a contemporary style of worship
- 80% put ten percent or more of their budget toward outreach and evangelism
- 16% have a higher rate of full-time pastors than struggling church plants
- 63% of planters leading fast-growing plants raise additional funding, compared to 23% of those that are struggling.
- 74% of fast-growing church planters receive one or two weeks of training.
- Over 90% of struggling churches work with only one paid staff member. Only 17% of fast-growing plants started with only one paid staff member.