© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use1 A Sample Presentation of The State of the Church in South Dakota and the Sioux Falls Metro Area Dave Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use2 The first 20 slides are from the “State of the Church in South Dakota” 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 South Dakota Every Week?” “Is the Christian Church Going Forwards or Backwards in Influence in South Dakota?” As the data is analyzed county by county assessing a number of factors, a comprehensive picture of the State of the Church in South Dakota 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 South Dakota has an attendance percentage (28.0%) that is the third highest in the nation. The national average is 18.7%.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use6

7 The Next Map shows the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend in 2000 for each county in South Dakota. The church attendance rate in Western South Dakota (21.5%) is much lower than Eastern South Dakota (30.8%).

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use8

9 The Next 2 Maps show the population numbers for each county in South Dakota. The first map shows the population of each county. Nine counties have a population of over 20,000 people. The second map shows the growth or decline in population for each county from All blue counties declined in population. Only one county (Minnehaha) increased by more than 10,000 people.

South Dakota Counties 2000 Population 1,193 Jones 1,353 Harding 1,556 Sully 1,671 Hyde 1,782 Campbell 2,032 Buffalo 2,083 Mellette 2,196 Haakon 2,295 Jerauld 2,519 Ziebach 2,640 Faulk 2,675 Sanborn 2,693 Potter 2,772 Stanley 2,884 Miner 2,904 McCook 2,930 Jackson 3,058 Aurora 3,139 Hanson 3,363 Perkins 3,458 Douglas 3,574 Bennett 3,741 Hand 3,895 Lyman 4,143 Clark 4,181 Corson 4,367 Edmunds 4,498 Deuel 4,576 McPherson 4,792 Gregory 5,364 Brule 5,540 Hamlin 5,815 Kingsbury 5,832 Marshall 5,972 Dewey 5,974 Walworth 6,267 Day 6,430 Tripp 6,595 Moody 7,260 Bon Homme 7,275 Custer 7,453 Fall River 7,454 Spink 7,847 Grant 8,075 Hutchinson 8,849 Turner 9,050 Todd 9,094 Butte 9,350 Charles Mix 10,016 Roberts 11,276 Lake 12,466 Shannon 12,584 Union 13,537 Clay 16,481 Hughes 17,023 Beadle 18,741 Davison 21,652 Yankton 21,802 Lawrence 24,131 Lincoln 24,253 Meade 25,897 Codington 28,220 Brookings 35,460 Brown 88,565 Pennington 148,281 Minnehaha 0 to 5,000 5,000 to 20,000 20,000 to 150,000

-1,230 Beadle -711 Day -569 Perkins -567 Gregory -531 Hand -527 Spink -525 Grant -497 Potter -494 Tripp -428 Haakon -388 Miner -324 McCook -316 Harding -288 Douglas -268 McPherson -260 Clark -187 Hutchinson -183 Campbell -158 Sanborn -131 Jones -130 Jerauld -121 Brule -120 Brown -113 Walworth -110 Kingsbury -104 Faulk -77 Aurora -54 Mellette -33 Sully -25 Hyde -24 Deuel -14 Corson 11 Edmunds 88 Moody 100 Fall River 102 Roberts 119 Jackson 144 Marshall 145 Hanson 171 Bon Homme 219 Charles Mix 257 Lyman 273 Buffalo 273 Turner 299 Ziebach 319 Stanley 351 Clay 368 Bennett 449 Dewey 566 Hamlin 698 Todd 726 Lake 1,096 Custer 1,147 Lawrence 1,180 Butte 1,238 Davison 1,664 Hughes 2,375 Meade 2,395 Union 2,400 Yankton 2,564 Shannon 3,013 Brookings 3,199 Codington 7,222 Pennington 8,704 Lincoln 24,472 Minnehaha -2,000 to 0 0 to 2,000 2,000 to 25,000 South Dakota Counties Population Increase or Decline

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

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use13

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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 South Dakota in 1990 and Most noteworthy is the slight growth of Evangelical churches and the slight decline of Catholic and Mainline churches. However, as overall worship attendance has remained quite stable, 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.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use17

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use18

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use19 The Next Chart shows the relative strength of the 9 major denominational groups in South Dakota. (The 3 Sisters are 3 similar evangelical denominations originally from Sweden, the Baptist General Conference, the Evangelical Free Church and the Evangelical Covenant Church.)

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use20

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use21 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. 11 counties grew in attendance percentage, while 55 counties declined.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use23 The Complete South Dakota 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 Use24 The next 3 slides are from the “State of the Church in Sioux Falls” 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 Use25 The Next Graph shows the attendance numbers for the churches in the Sioux Falls area in 1990 and Evangelical, Mainline and Catholic churches have all grown in attendance numbers. However, as population has grown rapidly, 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

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use29 The Next Map shows the percentage of the population attending a Christian church on any given weekend in 2000 for each county in the Sioux Falls area. The Sioux Falls MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) consists of Lincoln and Minnehaha counties.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use30 Sioux Falls Metro Area 2000 Percentage of the Population Attending a Christian Church on Any Given Weekend 20.1% Lincoln 26.1% Minnehaha

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use31 The Next Chart shows the net increase in the number of churches in the Sioux Falls metro area from The net increase equals the number of new churches started minus the number of closed churches. There was a net gain of 14 churches. However, to keep up with the population growth in the Sioux Falls area, there would have needed to have been a net gain of 45 churches from This chart reveals a net gain smaller than needed to keep with population growth. Since closure rates of churches tend to remain constant, the low numbers reflect an inadequate number of new churches started.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use33 The Complete Sioux Falls 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 Use34 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 Use35 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 South Dakota Powerpoint presentation is available at The Complete Sioux Falls Powerpoint presentation is available at