© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use1 A Sample Presentation of The State of the Church in West Virginia Dave Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use2 These slides are the first 12 from the “State of the Church in Virginia” 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 West Virginia Every Week?” “Is the Christian Church Going Forwards or Backwards in Influence in West Virginia?” As the data is analyzed county by county assessing a number of factors, a comprehensive picture of the State of the Church in West Virginia 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 West Virginia has an average church attendance percentage (17.4%), close to the national average (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 West Virginia.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

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

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use12 The Next Graph shows the attendance numbers for the churches in West Virginia in 1990 and Evangelicals have grown slightly in attendance, the Mainline and Catholics have significantly declined. As population numbers change, 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 decrease in the percentage of the population attending church.

© 2004 by David T. Olson

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use15 The Complete West Virginia 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 Use16 Information on the Information The spiritual health of churches is multifaceted, and is obviously much more complex than an attendance trend can portray. However, following the example of St. Luke in the Book of Acts, who used the number of people who showed up at various events as a sign documenting the health and growth of the early church, I would suggest that attendance is the single most helpful indicator of health, growth and decline. Information has been compiled only for orthodox Christian groups – Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. The Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Unitarian-Universalists and the International Churches of Christ have not been included. In addition, information about non-Christian groups has not been compiled. African American denominations publish very little that is statistical – often not even a list of current churches. This study used data from the 1990 Glenmary study on Black Baptist estimates and AME Zion churches, the average African American worship attendance (from the Barna Research Group), and a statistical model based on the population of African Americans in each county in 1990 and These were combined to come up with as accurate an estimate as possible. Independent church data is almost impossible to obtain. (There are actually fewer totally independent churches than is assumed. Most are part of some voluntary association, which typically keeps some records.) Data from the 1990 & 2000 Glenmary study on larger Independent churches (limited to over 300 in attendance) was used along with a statistical model to estimate the attendance at smaller independent churches. In Catholic churches, the definition of what constitutes membership varies with diocese and church, making numbers sometimes inconsistent from state to state and county to county. In addition to actual mass counts from 1/3 rd of Catholic parishes, membership information has been merged with attendance patterns from similar dioceses based on the size of the diocese and the region in which it is located. Orthodox Churches are included in Totals, but not included as a separate group because of smallness of size nationwide. Division into Evangelical and Mainline categories is based on the division by the Glenmary Study. This study only looks at how many people attend a Christian church on any given Sunday. The term ‘regular attender’ can be designated to mean someone who attends a Christian church on a consistent basis. Using a simple definition for ‘regular attender’ (attends at least 3 out of every 8 Sundays), between 23% and 25% of Americans would fit this category. Adding ‘regular attenders’ of non-orthodox christian churches and other religions to the totals would increase the percentage to 26% – 28%.

© 2004 by David T. Olson Sample - Not for Public Use17 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 West Virginia Powerpoint presentation is available at