Church Growth / Decline
How to Persevere in Ministry
Church Growth / Decline
Key Metric
Total Churches
842
Total churches in county
842
Total churches in metro
Churches are active in Orange county, but how are people engaging with the Church?
Studies show that there is a direct correlation to the number of congregations there are in a city to the psychological and health benefits as well as the social and economic impact. America in general has seen church attendance decline for many years. This decline has been increasing in younger generations at a greater rate than that of their parents and grandparents. Overall, this trend is measured from surveys that ask about church attendance. This is not the full story. Church attendance is only one way we can measure engagement with faith at this time, but we recognize that this is an imperfect measurement. Orange County has a large population, but many people are not finding their way to a church. Additionally, the number of churches planted has not kept pace. Overall, many faith groups report that they are static or declining in the number of congregations in Orange County.
By The Numbers
Helpful insight into some of the factors that affect the key metric and have an impact on this reality. Select an area on the map to view neighborhood-level stats.
Number of Churches Over Time
Faith Family Affiliation
Christian (1.4M)
Latter-day Saints (73K)
Islam (36K)
Other (34K)
Buddhism (17K)
Judaism (12K)
Hinduism (4.1K)
Adherents as % of Population
% Denominations Reporting Church Growth, Decline or Flat
Fewer Churches
Same Number of Churches
More Churches
Stories and Local Context
Listen to and learn from the stories of people, churches and/or organizations experiencing or engaging this reality first hand.
Scripture Reflection
Scriptures we’ve collected to help you consider this reality through the lens of Christianity.
1 Corinthians 12: 12-14
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Romans 12: 4-5
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Acts 2: 46-47
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Prayer Topics
Suggestions to help you connect this reality to your prayers.
Pray for Unity
Jesus prayed for the unity of all future believers, that they might be one just as Jesus and God the father were one. By the unity of the Church, Jesus said that people would believe in him and know he was in truth the son of God. In a world full of divisions, pray for unity among the Church.
Pray for Pastors
Leading a church is often a difficult and surprisingly lonely role. Pray for Pastors, who regularly face criticism for preaching the gospel. Pray for wisdom in their decisions and trusted friends and colleagues to help them lead well.
Pray for Church Growth
Please pray for God to raise up church planters in our county who have hearts and a commitment to impact particular cities and people groups. Pray for them to have creativity and to be able to create spaces to make and grow disciples throughout our county.
Get Involved
Links to Books, Resources, Organizations and/or Opportunities that are engaging this topic well.
