The Rev. Jay Lawlor discusses how church size theory is useful during times of transition and analyzing how a congregation is structured and operates.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US, March 7, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Rev. Jay Lawlor writes "Arlin Rothauge’s Sizing Up a Congregation for New Member Ministry (New York, NY: The Episcopal Church Center, 1995) is the classic study on church size. Since its publication there have been some modifications as experiences of observed behavior have changed over the years." The Rev. Lawlor then provides an overview of Church Size Theory as:

Family: 1-75 Average Sunday Attendance (ASA)
Pastoral: 76-150 ASA
Transitional: 151-225 ASA
Program: 226-450 ASA
Resource: 451+

The Rev. Lawlor states "Church size theory is helpful when a congregation is experiencing a change in size and/or when it is in transition and looking for a new rector." While Church Size Theory is quite useful, the Rev. Lawlor does offer a caution about overly generalizing. He writes:

While many aspects of church size hold true, the size theory are general observations. One size congregation can exhibit aspects of a different size congregation (even when not a Transitional size congregation). For example, a Family size congregation can function with aspects of a Pastoral size congregation; a Pastoral congregation can function with aspects of a Program size congregation; etc.. Functioning “outside” of a congregation’s actual size are not necessarily bad things. What we want to look for are areas where a congregation’s structure for ministry hinders its ability to effectively carry out mission and ministry (e.g. a Program size congregation that mostly operates as a Pastoral size congregation).

The Rev. Lawlor provides helpful links to more detailed discussions on Church Size Theory from the Episcopal Church Foundation. To read more visit https://www.therevjaylawlor.com/missionprojects/congregationalvitality/church-size-theory/

The Rev. Jay Lawlor
The Rev. Jay Lawlor
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