A friend commented on my Blog, "BCM, CRU, and FCA" that my figures for for Chi Alpha (the Assembly of God ministry) were outdated and gave me the most current figures. I appreciate that as I never want to seem I am down grading another ministry or not being accurate on the information I share. Here are the numbers he shared, in case you did not see them.
CHI ALPHA MINISTRIES:
286 active groups (320 Chartered)
15,894 total attendance at weekly worship services (roughly 55 per group)
21,820 Total involvement (roughly 75 per group)
It made me think a little more about attendance numbers for the BCM ministries around the country. There is no one number that would apply to most of them. A few are really large where there is multiple staff with a large and modern campus center and a good operating budget. Others are led by part time volunteers and meet in class rooms or in a church near by. The larger ministries would have as many as 500 at weekly worship events and have multiple events in a week that reach different students.
A different category would be the campus church plants where some of them have as many as 10-20 staff who raise their salaries. A few of these would be in the 500 to 500 plus category.
Simply put, I would say BCM campus based ministries fall into three categories in terms of attendance numbers. Also, Baptist Church college ministries would fall into about the same three categories. Some church ministries are very large with one or more full time ministers and or part time Interns/Student Assistants. Others are led by staffers with multiple responsibilities and no other help, apart from adult church member volunteers. The three attendance groupings are:
100 Plus
50-99
20-49
Of the 682 campuses that Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM/BSM/BSU) is on, I would say the majority would fall in the 50-99 attendance category at their weekly worship event. Yet, many are in the 100 plus group. But, that is strictly a guess on my part....but based on some facts and familiarity
One positive development in some BCM ministries is that funding policies are being changed to allow them to bring on staff that raise their own salaries. In most situations, this has been very limited in the past. Almost always, staff numbers and attendance numbers will have some correlation. I heard recently of a Methodist ministry on a large nationally known campus that averaged 1500 at their weekly meeting....and then I was told they had 100 interns.
Three things usually determine the number of students reached:
-Well trained, committed student leadership teams.
-Multiple staff reaching out to different student groups
-Budget affecting promotion and events
Remember, in thinking about your attendance and the attendance of other ministries, there are apples, oranges and grapefruits. Beware of unfair comparisons!
Arliss Dickerson is the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.
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