Are you a demographic church?

Bob Whitesel Feb. 25, 2021

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In Part 1 of this article, we discovered that you could find out by asking two questions exactly who your church should be growing out to serve.

Question 1: "Has God equipped your church to minister to people in a geographic community?"

If you answered yes, you might be a "geographic church." Geo- means "of an area." This is a church whose ministry has been directed toward people in a geographic area (often those who live nearby).

Question 2: "Has God equipped your church to minister to people like us? If you answered yes, you might be a 'demographic church'." Demo- means "of a people." This demographic church is a church whose ministry has been directed toward a people group (e.g., those who share common characteristics).

Are you a demographic church?

Demographic groups are sections of the population that talk and behave alike. Members can tell who is in their group and who is not.^[v] Examples: generational churches, ethnic churches, aging traditional churches, blue-collar churches, middle-class churches, café churches, college churches, etc.

Demographic churches—advantages

Demographic churches may embrace new people (though because of desperation).When a demographic church sees their people group on the wane (e.g., senior adults) they often intentionally reach out to an emerging demographic such as young professionals or young postmodern adults.

Demographic churches will change locations, following a people group as they move to new locales. If the demographic group they are reaching moves out of the area, a demographic church moves along with the culture. For example, a Boomer church may move from an urban area to the suburbs as its congregants move to those suburbs.

Can churches be geographic and demographic?Yes!

Many churches are reaching nearby geographic areas, as well as several far-flung demographics. This may be one of the healthiest ways for a church to grow, because the church maintains a strong local ministry while reaching out to more and more far-flung people groups. They have been called: multisite churches, multi-campus churches, mother/daughter networks.

But, because the average church in North America is only 75 attendees,^[vi] most of these churches do not have the numbers to be both a geographic and a demographic church.

Which church are you?

As you check off the statements below that are true for your church, compare the results with the questionnaire in Part 1 and see to whom God may be calling you.

You might be a demographic church^[vii] if:

• The needs of certain people (ethnic, generational, etc.) groups (which may be spread across a region) dictate your ministry.
• Your pastor feels called to a certain people (ethnic, generational, etc.)
• Your pastor is open to moving out of the area if most of the church's attendees live or are moving out of the area.
• Most of the church staff does not live in the church's geographical area.
• You change facilities as need arises - leasing or renting church facilities rather than owning them.
• You have multiple auditoriums or venues to accommodate different worship styles.
• Your churchgoers are moving away from the area, to an area where there are churches similar to yours which they may attend.
• Your church is in a middle-class suburban church.
• Your church name reflects the language of a people group, such as:
  • Overcomers' Church
  • Family Worship Center
  • Community Church^[viii]
• Your church name has been changed in the last decade.

Excerpted fromCure for the Common Church: God's Plan for Church Health(Wesleyan Publishing House, 2012).

[i] See Appendix 2.B for an explanation of John Perkins' "3 Rs." These three lessons from this pioneer in civil rights and Christian community development can ensure that cultural churches do not become mono- demographic enclaves. It is the conclusion of my case study research and this book that a healthy church is not a mono- demographic church but a congregation partnering across cultural boundaries to produce a reconciliation between cultures that modern society so desperately needs.

[ii] "demographic," Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011).

[iii] This is not to say that all churches are called to a geographic area or to a demographic. Some churches are mixtures. Yet, observing how God has equipped and empowered your church is the first step toward ascertaining whose needs you are called to meet.

[iv] See Appendix 2.B for an explanation of John Perkins' "3 Rs." These three lessons from this pioneer in civil rights and Christian community development can ensure that cultural churches do not become mono- demographic enclaves. It is the conclusion of my case study research and this book that a healthy church is not a mono- demographic church but a congregation partnering across cultural boundaries to produce a reconciliation between cultures that modern society so desperately needs.

[v] The phrase "talk alike, behave alike and can tell who is in their group and who is not," is expanded by Paul Hiebert in more detail as a matrix of behaviors, ideas and products (Cultural Anthropology [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1976). P. 25.

[vi] Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008 (Hartford, CT: Program on Public Values, 2009) and Duke University, National Congregations Study, http://www.soc.duke.edu/natcong/index.html

[vii] It is important to note that "demographic churches" can be comprised of more than one demographic. For instance, a demographic church can have a Boomer subcongregation, a Generation-X subcongregation, a Hispanic subcongregation and an Asian subcongregation. Called subcongregations because they are sub-sections of the church, their cultural heritage is honored by allowing their worship/teaching/etc. to be culturally distinct, while at the same time working together to manage one organization. Thus, worship/teaching/etc. can be culturally distinct in the sub-congregational model, but the responsibility for management and assets is shared. Thus, unity is created in leading a church, not in worship at that church (for worship by the definition of the very term means encounter with God see Bob Whitesel, ORGANIX: Signs of Leadership in a Changing Church[(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011], pp. 130-131.) Thus, worship's focus is God, not the creation of unity. There are plenty of opportunities in the sub-congregational model for unity to be created in management and ministry cooperation. One young emerging leader put it this way, "you can't create unity in a worship service, the chairs are facing the wrong way." He made a good point.

[viii] Even though the term "Community Church" would seem to designate a geographic church, the author has found that when the appellation "community" is added to a church name it usually designates a Boomer church (i.e., a demographic church) rather than a geographical-orientated congregation. For example, one of my client congregations named "Community Church of the Nazarene" (comprised primarily of Boomers) broke away from Taylor Avenue Church of the Nazarene (at the time comprised mostly of the Builder Generation). Despite the inclusive name, Community Church of the Nazarene became a church that primarily attracted Boomers from across the region, while Taylor Avenue Church of the Nazarene continued to primarily attract the Builder Generation from the neighborhood in which it was located. Happily, both the neighborhood and church are today growing into a vibrant Hispanic community.

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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More »

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