Staff

• The number of paid staff for the average congregation is three. But nearly half of all congregations have one paid staff member.
• 58 percent of congregations have a youth minister, and half of these youth ministers are volunteers.

Pastors' Commitments

• The head pastor spends, on average, 2.4 hours each week in community organizing, 3.6 hours in visitation of members and their families, 1.8 hours interacting with prospective members, 5.1 hours visiting the sick and shut-ins, 5.7 hours counseling, and 11 hours in sermon preparation.
• In an average week, head ministers work slightly more than 40 hours. However, if we only consider ministers that are paid for their work, the average head minister works nearly 45 hours per week. Of course, some ministers are paid for part-time work. That explains why the median hours worked by all paid ministers is actually higher than the average hours. The median pastor who is paid by the congregation works about 50 hours per week.

Worship

• On average, congregations hold about two worship services per week. About 61 percent of congregations have important differences between services, such as a traditional and a contemporary service, or services in different languages.
• In almost all congregations, about half of the attendees stay after the worship service to socialize for about 25 minutes.
• 62 percent of congregations have prayer services throughout the week.
• 53.4 percent of congregations have small groups meeting regularly. The most common purpose for small groups is Bible study, group prayer, and church planning.