Coffee Hour: Volume is Picking Up!

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Volume is Picking Up!

by RevThom

Here's the very latest from the On-line certification of membership in UU Congregations.

# of US Congregations Reporting: 350
Net Change in # of UUs: +1261
Percentage Growth: 2.27%

In the next week, as many as 600 more congregations will certify on-line so I am going to be up to my eye-balls keeping track. In early and mid-February, I plan on making some conclusions from all this data. Which states are growing the fastest? Do small, mid-sized, or large congregations account for the most growth? What do you want to know?

Posted by RevThom, January 25, 2005 11:33 AM

Comments:

Phil on the Prairie says:

January 25, 2005 05:00 PM | Permalink for this comment

Thom--
We've been looking at the specific numbers for Prairie Star. So far, so good. Plus, we've got some growth in a different area: the UUA Board of Trustees, at their meeting on January 23rd, 2005, did happily bring the UU Fellowship of Northeast Iowa (Decorah) into our association of congregations. That means the number of congregations affiliated with the UUA in Prairie Star is growing, too!--Phil

Chalicechick says:

January 26, 2005 08:15 AM | Permalink for this comment

I'd be interested to know geographic regions.

I'd be REALLY interested to know the theological leanings of the churches that are growing the most, but I bet there's no good methodology for that one.

RevThom says:

January 26, 2005 11:32 AM | Permalink for this comment

Hi CC

I'm planning on doing a state-by-state breakdown in mid-February.

The question of whether their is a correlation between the dominant theology in a congregation and its growth or lack thereof is an interesting question. I'm clueless on how we might measure this. Most UU congregations are of two types: either a blend of theists and humanists where some God-language is permitted or a humanist dominated congregation where God-language is excluded. There are also Christian congregations and a few Earth-based/Pagan congregations.

I would look at factors other than theology as indicators of growth.

Chris Walton says:

January 31, 2005 04:51 PM | Permalink for this comment

Something else I'd like to see is what percentage of the overall population of the UUA is in congregations of different sizes. What percent of UUs belong to churches with more than 500 members? 250-500 members? 100-250 members? less than 100 members? And how many congregations are in each range?