Supersized: Analyzing the Trend Towards Larger Churches

The number of very large churches has increased, for example, in the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Methodist Church. (This is not a perfect measure, especially not after 1970, when increases in the cost of benefits started to outpace wage increases.) Comparing real revenue increases with real cost increases in this way suggests that from 1940 to 1960 increases in revenue for the average congregation far outpaced increases in clergy salaries. WHEN COST INCREASES outpace revenue increases, churches cut corners and reduce quality by deferring maintenance, declining to replace youth ministers when they leave, replacing retiring full-time ministers with half-time pastors, and so on.

Duke Scholars

Author Mark Chaves Sociology