Average number of worship attendees at an ELCA congregation.


For Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley, Calif., to grow, Cary Bass-Deschenes, its pastor, would like to see more lay-led initiatives and more lay involvement in worship.


Small congregations share strengths, struggles


By Karris Golden When Thomas Batterman retired from full-time


parish ministry, he began serving as a supply pastor in the Dayton, Ohio, area. The call often takes him to serve small congregations in crisis. It has been an eye-opener for him: “Out here, the future of the local congregation looks bleak.” By “out here,” Batterman is referring in part to the


isolation such ELCA members sometimes feel. “They don’t feel connected to the national church because the national church isn’t talking about the problems they face,” he said. “Diversity is worthwhile … but to some of these small congregations, diversity is someone under 50—or a family with children walking in.” These small congregations grapple with aging and


dwindling membership, decreased giving, maintaining expensive infrastructure and a leadership vacuum. Of particular concern is staffing—some can’t afford a full-time pastor and can’t find a part-time one. Stressed budgets mean some church buildings are only open for weekly worship services. According to ELCA Research and Evaluation, there are correlations between declining worship


40 JANUARY 2017


104 50


Highest number of worship attendees at a “small” congregation.


Percentage of ELCA congregations with 50 or fewer worship attendees.


37.6 31


Average number of worship attendees per small congregation.


Source: ELCA Research and Evaluation


attendance, giving shortfalls and staffing costs in small congregations. While the number of ELCA congregations declined between 2010 and 2015 from 10,008 to 9,326, the number of congregations that can’t fund a full-time pastor remained above 2,000—which is projected to grow. Nearly a third of ELCA congregations don’t have


and/or can’t afford a full-time pastor. They employ temporary solutions, such as fill-ins from other churches and retired pastors like Batterman.


The problem with buildings These issues exist in both rural and urban settings, said Cary Bass-Deschenes, pastor of Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley, Calif. An average of 38 people attend weekly worship


services at Cross. “Most of the members here weren’t raised Lutheran,” he said. “We’re not very affluent. Some of our members are homeless, and some have been homeless.”


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