The same principle applies to budgets. That is a considerable difference if you are considering the capacity of groups to mobilize resources. One unavoidable conclusion is that the top tier of congregations something like the largest quarter has most of the members and most of the money. Three important lessons follow from this statistical understanding. First, civic leaders advocating an expanded social role for congregations should keep things in perspective.
Most congregations look nothing like the big, urban organizations often offered as examples.
Programs and expectations must meet organizational reality. Third, all of us as observers should learn to parse what we are told about congregations available capacity and to temper our expectations accordingly. Congregations small as well as large can be very effective social actors, but we need to understand their actions in a realistic context. Written by Arthur E. Farnsley II of The Polis Center . For more information on statistics and use of research information for congregational life, visit our page on statistics and poll data within the congregational resources section of this site.