Local Church Classification Program
For far too long now annual conferences and church leaders have struggled with solutions to arrest and reverse church decline among the annual conferences and the denomination. Key to any successful revitalization program is the early identification of those churches in need of assistance to prevent further decline or closure or to recognize opportunity for growth. The Institute for Local Church Growth (ILCG) has developed a classification program specifically designed to help leaders identify churches struggling merely to remain afloat and, alternatively, churches which have attained excellence. The classification program is not intended to replace the evaluations obtained by those with on-the-ground assessments, but it is intended as an unbiased analytical tool which offers additional perspectives and clarity. Some may call this, hope. We call it, opportunity.
With a comprehensive dataset in hand, the researchers at the ILCG have developed and evaluated algorithms that pinpoint the many conditions, or sets of conditions, that result in the pre-emergence of significant, predictable church health indicators, well before a critical path unmistakably manifests.
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Why We Do It
The world is missing out on the hope, truth, and power of the Gospel. The local church remains the best vehicle by which its message is spread. The secular press continues to challenge the work of the Church with its predictions of decline and rejection among the younger generations. Instead, the local church can grow and prove its capacity to change lives and communities. Growing Christian churches among our mainline denominations and beyond is a real possibility.
What We Use
- Local Church Geodata
- Local Church Indicators: Worship Attendance and Congregational Giving—past 5 years
- Local Church Spending Patterns—Past 5 years
- Pastoral leadership—Past 10 years
- Establishment of Benchmarks
- Statistical projections—Next 5 years
What We Do
ILCG works side by side with local church leaders to identify internal deficiencies through comparisons with thriving peer group outcomes. Comparisons bring broad solutions that are refined or customized by local church leaders. In the end, the local church becomes more effective in ministry to community and in making disciples of Christ.
How We Do It
ILCG takes a comprehensive approach to measuring and understanding the impacts of the changing composition of churches. Based upon statistical analyses of over 1 million local church records—about 32,000 churches over 28 years — sophisticated simulation models have been developed to scrutinize past experience, clarify present standing and discern the factors that provide the foundation for a vibrant future.
