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| KBC Surpasses National Average in Church Plant Survivability Study |
| Release Date: 08/28/2008 |
LOUISVILLE -- Kentucky Baptist church plants averaged higher attendance throughout their first three years and were more likely to have a sponsoring church compared to a national study of church plants from multiple denominations.
The study of Kentucky churches, conducted this year by LifeWay Research, examined 132 churches planted since 2000 and determined the survivability of 72 of those congregations. Among them, only three church plants were confirmed to have closed.
"This study highlights important factors present in healthy new churches in Kentucky," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. "Among those factors unique to Kentucky that are associated with higher attendance are using mailers for promotion, meeting in a visible location, receiving demographic analysis on the community and conducting a discipleship group for church members."
On average, 10 more people attended weekly worship at Kentucky Baptist church plants compared to church plants of other denominations. By the third year, those churches averaged 80 people in worship, the study said. Since the majority of church plants interviewed for the study began in 2005 or later, much of the statistics are based on three year trends.
Also, new Kentucky Baptist churches had higher baptism rates, which were associated uniquely in Kentucky with using door hangers and road signs in promoting the church plants. By the third year, new churches averaged 13 baptisms.
LifeWay found that the KBC "deviates from the national average in dramatic ways" in terms of more mature churches sponsoring the church plants.
"Not only does KBC have a higher proportion of church plants with sponsoring churches than the national average, but they also provide much more assistance at all levels," the study said.
About 70 percent of KBC church plants had a sponsoring church, and 80 percent of those sponsoring churches provided funding to the church plant, researchers found. In addition to having sponsoring churches early on, data indicated that compared to the national average, a greater proportion of KBC churches are financially self-sufficient each year.
The study also revealed that Kentucky Baptists need to improve in their use of denominational assistance. KBC church plants appeared to access mentoring, peer networks and training somewhat lower than the national average, LifeWay said.
To strengthen that statistic, the KBC recently hosted a meeting of about 15 church planters to develop a network, said Larry Baker, new work and associational missions department director for the KBC.
Such networks are beneficial, he said, because they allow church planting peers to help each other address challenges.
"When they're dealing with different kinds of problems, probably some of the church planters have already gone through those problems and are able to give some suggestions about ways that they might be able to deal with those issues," Baker said.
At the meeting, KBC staff distributed a list of who was present along with their e-mail addresses and telephone numbers so the church planters could keep in touch once they returned to their regions of service.
Baker also authors “Planting with Passion” (www.plantingwithpassion.com), an online blog dedicated to church planting issues. The site serves as an online network for church planters across Kentucky and around the world.
The KBC continues to offer training for church planters, including Basic Training and Basic Training II courses, as well as Super Saturday tracks and scholarships to attend relevant conferences not sponsored by the state convention, Baker said.
Another area where Kentucky could stand to improve, LifeWay said, is in planting churches where the need is greatest. About 18 percent of KBC churches were planted in communities where 10 percent or less of the residents are evangelical Christians. Baker said that in nearly every county in the state, 80 percent of the people don't attend church on any given Sunday.
"Our strategy is to go wherever we can penetrate the pockets of unreached people," he said.
Baker stressed the importance of church planting in Kentucky.
"With the number of churches declining and plateaued, one of the most effective ways to reach Kentucky is by starting new churches," he said. "Also there are great numbers of ethnic people who are moving into Kentucky now that we have not had in previous times. New churches are needed to reach these ethnic groups. Our urban areas are also way behind in the ratio of churches to the population.
"We need church planting because of the generations that our churches don't seem to be reaching anymore -- especially the 19- to 39-year-olds," Baker added. "Some churches do things a little differently and can actually reach out to those generations. The main reason for planting new churches, though, is because the population has gained much faster than church growth, and the only way we're going to make up the difference is to plant new churches."
The Kentucky Baptist Convention is a cooperative missions and ministry organization made up of more than 2,400 autonomous Baptist churches in Kentucky. A variety of state and worldwide ministries are coordinated through its administrative headquarters in Louisville, Ky. including: missions work, disaster relief, ministry training and support, church development, evangelism and more.
Release prepared by Erin Roach, KBC Communications |
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