© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use1 A Sample Presentation of The State of the Church in North Carolina and the Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro Metro Areas Dave Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use2 The first 24 slides are from the “State of the Church in North Carolina” Powerpoint. The Complete Powerpoint is 43 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use3 In 1996, polls taken immediately after the Presidential election revealed that 58% of people claimed they had voted, when in reality only 49% actually did. This is called the Halo Effect. People tend to over-inflate their participation in activities that create acceptability within their social group. For many decades, pollsters such as Gallup and Barna have reported that around 45% of Americans attend church every Sunday. But there is a religious Halo Effect. Actual attendance counts have shown that the percentage of people attending church on any given weekend is much lower than was previously thought.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use4 The Intent of this presentation is to answer and then expand on two key questions: “How Many People Really Attend Church in North Carolina Every Week?” “Is the Christian Church Going Forwards or Backwards in Influence in North Carolina?” As the data is analyzed county by county assessing a number of factors, a comprehensive picture of the State of the Church in North Carolina will begin to take shape.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use5 This study uses weekend church attendance as a more reliable and more immediate snapshot of Christian influence than membership. The following map shows the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend in all 50 states in North Carolina has an average church attendance percentage (22.7%) much higher than the national average (18.7%).

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7 The Next Map shows the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend in 2000 for each county in North Carolina.

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9 The Next 2 Maps show the population numbers for each county in North Carolina. The first map shows the population of each county. The second map shows the growth or decline in population for each county from

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use12 The Next 2 Slides show the ethnicity of North Carolina in 1990 and The third slide shows the growth or decline in the percentage of the population for each ethnic group.

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use16 The Next Graph shows the attendance numbers for the churches in North Carolina in 1990 and All groups have increased in attendance over the last decade. Unfortunately, as overall worship attendance has declined, the population has grown. A more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or declining influence is the percentage of the population attending church on any given weekend, shown in the second graph. This graph reflects a significant decrease in the percentage of the population attending church, with the exception of Catholic churches.

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use19 The 3 Next Charts show the relative strength of the 8 major denominational groups in North Carolina. The first chart illustrates the large influence of the Baptist church. The second and third charts show significant growth in the Pentecostal and Catholic churches.

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use23 The Next Map shows the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend in 2000 for each county in North Carolina.

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use25 The Final Chart shows the net gain in the number of churches in North Carolina in the past decade. There was a net gain of 141 churches. However, 2829 churches were needed to keep up with population growth from

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use27 The Complete North Carolina Powerpoint is 43 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use28 The next 7 slides are from the “State of the Church in Charlotte” Powerpoint. The Complete Powerpoint is 45 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use29 The Next Graph shows the attendance numbers for the churches in the Charlotte metro in 1990 and All groups have grown numerically over the last decade. But as population has grown, a more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or declining influence is the percentage of the population attending church on any given weekend, shown in the second graph.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use32 The Next Map shows the attendance percentages for the Evangelical churches in each county in the Charlotte area in 2000.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use33 Charlotte Metro Area 2000 Evangelical Church Attendance

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use34 The Next Map shows the growth or decline in the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend from 1990 to 2000 for each county. All counties in Charlotte declined in attendance percentage.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use35 Charlotte Metro Counties Growth or Decline in Percentage of the Population at Worship in All Christian Churches on a Given Weekend Blue = Decline Rose = Growth

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use36 The Next Chart shows the net gain in the number of churches in Charlotte Metro area in the past decade. There was a net gain of 159 churches. However, a net gain of 575 churches was needed to keep up with population growth from

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use38 The Complete Charlotte Powerpoint is 45 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use39 The next 8 slides are from the “State of the Church in Raleigh” Powerpoint. The Complete Powerpoint is 45 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use40 The Next Graph shows the attendance numbers for the churches in the Raleigh metro area in 1990 and All groups have grown numerically over the last decade. But as population has grown, a more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or declining influence is the percentage of the population attending church on any given weekend, shown in the second graph.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use43 The Next Chart shows the 1990 & 2000 average church attendance by group for both this metro area and the nation. The second chart shows the 1990 & 2000 population per church for this metro area and the nation. This shows how many people live in this metro area for every Christian church. Among states in 2000, Arkansas is the lowest at 411 people per church, while Utah is the highest at 4,586 people per church.

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use46 The Next Map shows the growth or decline in the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend from 1990 to 2000 for each county. All counties in Raleigh declined in attendance percentage.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use47 Raleigh Metro Counties Growth or Decline in Percentage of the Population at Worship in All Christian Churches on a Given Weekend Blue = Decline Rose = Growth -13.4% Chatham -5.8% Franklin -2.1% Orange -22.6% Johnston -0.6% Durham -6.2% Wake

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use48 The Complete Raleigh Powerpoint is 46 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use49 The next 7 slides are from the “State of the Church in Greensboro” Powerpoint. The Complete Powerpoint is 46 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use50 The Next Graph shows the attendance numbers for the churches in the Greensboro metro in 1990 and All groups have grown numerically over the last decade. But as population has grown, a more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or declining influence is the percentage of the population attending church on any given weekend, shown in the second graph.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use53 The Next 3 Maps show the growth or decline of attendance percentages for the Evangelical, Catholic and Mainline churches in each county in Greensboro between 1990 and For evangelical churches, 5 counties grew in attendance percentage, while 3 declined. For mainline churches, 1 county grew in attendance percentage, while 7 declined. For Catholic churches, 6 counties grew in attendance percentage, while 1 declined.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use54 Greensboro Metro Counties Growth or Decline in Percentage of the Population at Worship in All Evangelical Churches on a Given Weekend Blue = Decline Rose = Growth -11.3% Yadkin 5.0% Davie 11.9% Stokes -8.4% Davidson -4.2% Alamance -5.3% Randolph 15.8% Forsyth 8.4% Guilford

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use55 Greensboro Metro Counties Growth or Decline in Percentage of the Population at Worship in All Mainline Churches on a Given Weekend Blue = Decline Rose = Growth -24.5% Yadkin -19.6% Davie 1.1% Stokes -15.3% Davidson -13.9% Alamance -19.3% Randolph -8.5% Forsyth -13.4% Guilford

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use56 Greensboro Metro Counties Growth or Decline in Percentage of the Population at Worship in All Catholic Churches on a Given Weekend Blue = Decline Rose = Growth Yadkin 315.9% Davie 33.0% Stokes 61.5% Davidson 30.3% Alamance 161.8% Randolph -3.7% Forsyth 36.9% Guilford

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use57 The Complete Greensboro Powerpoint is 46 slides in length, and is available at It includes maps of church attendance in every county in the metro area, as well as denominational charts, average size charts, church planting charts, ethnicity charts and population growth information.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use58 This Presentation is based on a nationwide study of American church attendance, as reported by churches and denominations. The database currently has average worship attendances for each of the last 10 years for over 200,000 individual churches. It also uses supplementary information (actual membership numbers correlated with accurate membership to attendance ratios) to project the attendances of all other denominational and independent churches. All told, accurate information is provided for over 300,000 orthodox Christian churches. 1 1 This presentation looks only at people attending orthodox Christian churches. Approximately 3 million people attend non-orthodox Christian churches, and perhaps 3 million attend a religious service of another religion. Those ‘houses of worship’ would add another 35,000 churches in the United States and increase the 2000 percentage to 20.5%.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use59 For More Information... Please go to for additional information on the American Church. 12 Surprising Facts about the American Church is available at 12supm. htm 12supm. htm The complete North Carolina Powerpoint presentation is available at The Complete Charlotte Powerpoint presentation is available at The Complete Raleigh Powerpoint presentation is available at The Complete Greensboro Powerpoint presentation is available at The complete North Carolina Combo Pack is available at