For years we have assumed that what the general church says is the “Mission” of the church, is in fact the mission of every church. This might be true of the pastors, or a few key leaders, but most of the people in the pews have little understanding of the mission of the church, nor …
Category: Understanding Your Church
You may be wondering what the value is of understanding all this time information on Cats, Collies, Ranches, etc? This is simply another tool to help understand the nature of each church and what leadership styles might best serve that church. We have traditionally spent a lot of time with statistics, without really observing that …
Churches which average more than 1,000 people in Sunday morning worship make up less than 1% of all churches nationwide and yet perhaps 10% of the population of church going people attends one of these churches. When churches grow larger than 1,000 people in attendance they take on a distinctly differently demeanor. Somewhere above 700 …
As we mentioned in the Mansion, it is very hard to grow a church thru the 450 a week average attendance barrier to the next size. The Ranch averages 450 to 1,000 in attendance, and while it represents just over 2% of all churches nationwide, on an average Sunday 20% of all worshipers will attend …
Those people who worship in a congregation of 225 to 450 are attending a church that represents only 9% of all churches nationally. Please take a moment to notice the bracket enlarged: Houses are 175 to 225 a bracket of only 50 attendees, Mansions double in breadth so the bracket is 225 wide. Though it …
So far we have looked at Cats, Collies, Gardens and that those three categories cover 80% of all churches nationwide. Now, we begin to get more complex. If your congregation averages between 175 and 225 in average attendance then you are looking at a House. This is the most awkward size of all the churches. …
Churches that average over one hundred but under a hundred and seventy-five, (100-175) are larger than a single unit. We move beyond Cats (0-35) and Collies (35 to 100) into a whole new thing – a Garden. This middle sized church can be found in about 15% of all the churches nationwide. But keep in …
Churches with an average attendance of 35 to 100 tend to act a lot like Collies. These creatures are warm and affectionate and respond well to love and attention. Whereas the Cat has little interest in making their pastor happy, the Collie lives to make the pastor happy. When the pastor goes away on seminars …
Do you own a cat? Probably not, when you really understand the nature of cat ownership you realize that cats are independent creatures. They probably own you, but not the other way around. There are many churches that have the characteristics of a Cat. These churches have less than 35 in average Sunday attendance. They …
Who are we? One of the problems of church work is to simply understand the nature of each church. Understanding a churches nature is critical to being able to care for and lead that church. In 1984 the brilliant church observer and guide, Lyle Schaller, wrote a wonderful book called “Looking in the Mirror: Self-Appraisal …