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

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use2 The first 19 slides are from the “State of the Church in Kansas” Powerpoint. The Complete Powerpoint is 42 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 Kansas Every Week?” “Is the Christian Church Going Forwards or Backwards in Influence in Kansas?” As the data is analyzed county by county assessing a number of factors, a comprehensive picture of the State of the Church in Kansas 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 Kansas has an attendance percentage (22.7%) that is higher than the average for the nation (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 Kansas. Church attendance is higher in western Kansas than in eastern Kansas.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use9 The Next 2 Maps show the population numbers for each county in Kansas. The first map shows the population of each county. The second map shows the growth or decline in population for each county from Blue counties declined in population.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use12 The Next 2 Slides show the ethnicity of Kansas 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 Kansas in 1990 and Evangelicals have grown in attendance, while Mainline and Catholic churches have declined. Unfortunately, while overall worship attendance has decreased somewhat, population has continued to grow, meaning that the Church in Kansas has declined substantially in the percentage of population attending church. The second graph shows a more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or declining influence by looking at the percentage of the population attending church on any given weekend.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 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 Kansas. The Pie Chart shows how Catholic, Christian, Methodist and Baptist churches predominate. The second and third charts show that all 8 groups have declined in the percentage of the population attending that denominational family.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use23 The Complete Kansas Powerpoint is 42 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 8 slides are from the “State of the Church in Kansas City” 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 2 Maps show the population numbers for each county in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The first map shows the population size of each county. The second map shows the growth or decline in population for each county from

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use26

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© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use28 The Next Map shows the attendance numbers for the churches in the Kansas City Metro in 1990 and Most noteworthy is that Evangelical, Mainline and Catholic churches grew numerically. However, as population has grown, the percentage of the population attending Mainline and Catholic churches has declined. This is a more reliable standard for evaluating increasing or declining influence. The percentage of the population attending church on any given weekend is shown in the second graph.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use29

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use30

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use31 The First Factor to evaluate is the Percentage of the Population that attends a worship service on any given weekend. The first map shows the 2000 percentage for all orthodox Christian churches.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use32 Kansas City Metro - Percentage of Population Attending a Christian Church on any Given Weekend by County in % Leavenworth 19.8% Wyandotte 21.8% Johnson 21.4% % 21.0% Clay 16.7% Ray 16.7% Clinton 25.0% Jackson 21.6 % Platte 14.9% Cass 22.7% Lafayette 19.1% Miami 17.0% % 14.0% %

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use33 The Complete Kansas City Powerpoint is 50 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 Kansas Powerpoint presentation is available at The Complete Kansas City Powerpoint presentation is available at A Combo Pack (12 Surprising Facts, Kansas and Kansas City Powerpoints) is available at