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Healthy growing churches reaching their worlds?
Abe Dueck
It has often been asserted that statistics can be used to draw whatever conclusions one may wish to draw from them. Although there may be some truth in this assertion, it should be possible to make some observations about the nature and health of our denomination on the basis of statistics. The annual statistical report for the Canadian MB Conference for the year 2000 was released at the meetings of the Executive Board near Calgary in August. The Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies gathers these statistics annually and summarizes the findings in order to provide a general picture of what is happening in our congregations.
Congregations are asked to fill out a questionnaire which includes many different categories – membership numbers, sources of gains and losses, ages of persons baptized, Sunday school attendance, worship attendance, demographic information (births, weddings, deaths), numbers and categories of leadership personnel, attendance at Christian schools, and financial information. Not all congregations keep records for all these categories, and therefore the responses are uneven. Some congregations do not respond to the questionnaire at all. These factors sometimes make it difficult to draw firm conclusions, especially on a year-to-year basis. At times, however, there are startling facts that emerge, especially when longer terms are taken into account.
While this year’s report did not reveal many startling changes, there were some interesting trends. The “bottom line”, which most look at first, is membership growth. During the past year, the membership grew from 33,214 to 34,288 – an increase of about 3%. As in most recent years, the largest increase came in British Columbia, which has almost 50% of the membership in Canada. Manitoba and Saskatchewan also posted significant gains. Unfortunately, despite the Key Cities Initiative in Alberta, that province still suffered a net loss in membership, primarily because of difficulties in several established churches. Offsetting these losses in that province were significant gains in worship attendance – from 3,038 in 1999 to 3,332 by the end of 2000. Overall, average worship attendance in Mennonite Brethren congregations increased from 41,798 in 1999 to 45,528 – a 9% increase. The increase in the total number of members and adherents also appears to be significant – from about 42,000 in 1998 and about 47,000 in 1999 to almost 57,000 in 2000. These numbers may not be entirely accurate, but the trend is encouraging. (Note: The numbers of 1998 and 1999 should probably be somewhat higher because of different methods of tabulation.)
As always, there are questions raised by these and other numbers. The gap between worship attendance and membership is widening. Why? Is membership becoming less and less meaningful, especially for young people? How can the church address that issue?
Another area that has shown significant change in recent years is the nature and number of pastoral staff. There was a 10% increase in paid pastoral staff between 1999 and 2000, and an even more significant increase in unpaid pastoral staff. What does this mean in terms of how our churches function and our needs for pastoral training in the future?
It is probably time for an in-depth analysis covering a longer period of at least ten years. Much more difficult (though more beneficial) than a quantitative analysis, would be a qualitative analysis measuring our spiritual health and growth over the last decade.
Abe Dueck is Director of the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Winnipeg.
| Number of Congregations: |
| Total number of congregations Jan. 2000 |
210 |
| Total number of congregations Dec. 2000 |
219 |
| Emerging churches (2000) |
15 |
| Dissolved churches (2000) |
2 |
| Total number of congregations submitting reports |
165 |
Membership gains: |
2000 |
1999 |
| Baptism |
1,061 |
1,061 |
| Transfer from other MB churches |
392 |
412 |
| Testimony (from other denominations) |
730 |
752 |
| Re-instatement |
10 |
53 |
| Charter members (new churches only) |
24 |
136 |
| Total membership gains |
2,289 |
2,332 |
Membership losses: |
| Transfer to MB churches |
341 |
329 |
| Transfer to emerging MB churches |
48 |
36 |
| Transfer to another denomination |
270 |
319 |
| Disciplinary release |
18 |
24 |
| Release |
551 |
673 |
| Death |
252 |
216 |
| Dissolution or departure of congregation |
0 |
91 |
| Total membership losses |
1,760 |
1,920 |
| TOTAL MEMBERSHIP |
34,288 |
33,214 |
Membership – December 31, 2000: |
| Net percentage growth in 2000: |
| Alberta |
-0.21% |
2,280 |
| British Columbia |
2.84% |
16,972 |
| Manitoba |
0.93% |
6,088 |
| Maritimes |
10.05% |
208 |
| Quebec |
-13.05% |
413 |
| Ontario |
-1.36% |
4,421 |
| Saskatchewan |
1.10% |
3,306 |
Net Percentage growth by year: |
| Net percentage growth 2000 |
3.00% |
| Net percentage growth 1999 |
1.63% |
| Net percentage growth 1998 |
0.25% |
| Net percentage growth 1997 |
1.60% |
| Net percentage growth 1996 |
3.43% |
Average weekly attendance: |
2000 |
1999 |
| Sunday school |
20,177 |
19,424 |
| Sunday a.m. worship |
45,528 |
41,798 |
| Sunday p.m. worship |
4,839 |
4,831 |
| Weekday activities (clubs, etc.) |
9,352 |
9,873 |
| Small group participants |
14,950 |
14,133 |
| Children’s church |
2,650 |
2,189 |
| Vacation Bible school (or equivalent) |
8,007 |
8,223 |
Demographic information: |
2000 |
1999 |
| Number of births |
658 |
745 |
| Number of marriages |
381 |
449 |
| Number of divorces/separations |
49 |
73 |
| Number of deaths |
276 |
253 |
Church leadership: |
2000 |
1999 |
| Number of pastoral staff (paid) |
403 |
366 |
| Number of pastoral staff (unsalaried) |
64 |
45 |
| Number of elders or church council members |
1,343 |
1,331 |
| Number of deacons |
1,406 |
1,372 |
| Number of missionaries with MBMSI |
74 |
83 |
| Number of “home missions” workers |
38 |
24 |
| Number of missionaries with non-MB organizations |
390 |
403 |
| Number of MCC workers |
117 |
121 |
Education – Number of persons in undergraduate studies: |
2000 |
1999 |
| Bethany Bible Institute |
88 |
95 |
| Columbia Bible College |
112 |
104 |
| Institut Biblique Laval |
1 |
1 |
| Concord College |
42 |
44 |
| Canadian Mennonite Bible College |
17 |
4 |
| Briercrest Bible College |
61 |
57 |
| Canadian Bible College |
7 |
5 |
| Capernwray schools |
41 |
53 |
| Ontario Bible College (Tyndale) |
5 |
5 |
| Trinity Western University |
89 |
79 |
| Providence College |
43 |
42 |
| Other undergraduate Christian institutions |
94 |
92 |
| Secular undergraduate institutions |
725 |
693 |
| TOTAL number of undergraduate students |
1,325 |
1,274 |
Education – Number of persons in graduate studies: |
2000 |
1999 |
| Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary |
14 |
16 |
| Association of Canadian Theological Seminaries |
14 |
10 |
| Canadian Theological Seminary |
5 |
5 |
| Ontario Theological Seminary (Tyndale) |
4 |
4 |
| Regent College |
12 |
10 |
| Providence Theological Seminary |
11 |
20 |
| All other Christian graduate institutions |
11 |
17 |
| All secular graduate institutions |
83 |
78 |
| TOTAL number of graduate students |
153 |
162 |
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Last modified December 7, 2001.
© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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