For the past 9 months, the ELCA Research and Evaluation team has been hard at work to produce this important new study on The Future Need for Pastoral Leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A few key takeaways:
Total congregations have declined by about 1% each year demonstrating surprising organizational resilience.
As of 2022, about 60% of congregations have average worship attendance under 50.
We estimate 45% of congregations cannot comfortably afford a full-time pastor.
And much, much more in the full report.