Do We Really Need More Churches Planted in America?

I wonder what the total number of unique customers visiting Starbucks weekly is compared to the total number of unique people visiting a church weekly.

Not everyone needs Starbucks coffee. But everyone needs Jesus.

Not everyone can afford Starbucks coffee. But Jesus died for all and offers His salvation freely to all (Isaiah 55:1).

So yes, America needs more churches preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

David R. Brumbelow

How about no more than one Starbucks in each city?

Actually, all this talk of Starbucks will probably drive me to visit one today …

[Chip Van Emmerik]

I wonder what the total number of unique customers visiting Starbucks weekly is compared to the total number of unique people visiting a church weekly.

According to various online sources, Starbucks serves about 60,000,000 customers/week in the U.S., and the average Starbucks customer visits about 6 times/month. If we figure an average of 30.4 days/month (365/12), I calculate that’s about 43.4 million unique customers per week for Starbucks.

With the current U.S. population about 317.9 million ( http://www.census.gov/popclock/ ), and with widely varying studies showing that 20% to 40% of the U.S. population attended a worship service (predominantly a church service in the U.S.) in the preceding week, that could range from about 63.6 to 127.2 million unique church visitors/week.

Starbucks and Churches = Apples and Oranges

But … if you’ve driven around or lived in the deep South … It’s amazing how many Baptist churches there are.

That being said, the “how many churches” is really market driven. We should have as many churches as people want to have.

I could attend a KJVonly church .. but I don’t want too. I could worship at an E-Free church … but I prefer a Baptist church. I could drive downtown to Piper’s church … but I prefer a church in my own community (of Plymouth MN)

more churches has just led to more fragmentation into incompatible christian subdenominations. is anyone really on the fence about going to church and the only thing keeping them away is that there isn’t one close enough? america is a country that drives cars, and people aren’t afraid to drive a fair distance to get to a church they like, passing up dozens on the way there.

a better comparison than just to starbucks would be to all the kinds of resturaunts that serve coffee. some people are really fanatical about their starbucks, but that really compares more accurately to a church denomination.

[Larry Nelson]

According to various online sources, Starbucks serves about 60,000,000 customers/week in the U.S., and the average Starbucks customer visits about 6 times/month. If we figure an average of 30.4 days/month (365/12), I calculate that’s about 43.4 million unique customers per week for Starbucks.

With the current U.S. population about 317.9 million ( http://www.census.gov/popclock/ ), and with widely varying studies showing that 20% to 40% of the U.S. population attended a worship service (predominantly a church service in the U.S.) in the preceding week, that could range from about 63.6 to 127.2 million unique church visitors/week.

If there are about 10,000 Starbucks in the U.S., and about 330,000 churches (the OP says “over 300,000”, but it’s something like 330K), then here’s how many unique visitors each Starbucks and each U.S. church would see per week (based on the calculated figures quoted above):

U.S. Starbucks: 43.4 million unique visitors per week / 10,000 outlets = about 4,340 unique customers per outlet per week on average.

U.S. Churches: 63.6 million unique visitors per week (assuming the low-end figure above) / 330,000 churches = about 192 unique visitors per week on average.

[ChrisC]

more churches has just led to more fragmentation into incompatible christian subdenominations.

Since there is no Protestant Pope, there will never be a centralized coordination of how many churches or how many types or how many styles of churches.

To use the language of IT (Information Technology) … we have “open systems”. To use the terminology of economics, you have the “invisible hand”.

There are limiting factors. Say a missionary has burden to plant a church in Iron Mountain Michigan (the UP … the southernmost Canadian province). That same missionary has to convince scores of churches and individuals to support his plan. If he came to my church, I would advise him that there probably are enough churches in Iron Mountain and he would get no support from me. I would be one-bit in the many bits that influence that decision.

Every time I see a topic similar to this I’m reminded of 2 things:

1. Dr. Bob Jones III constantly reminding us of the truly desperate need for faithful churches in the Western US. Many towns have no Bible-believing churches, and a drive to the nearest one is a hardship.

2. Genesee County, MI has approximately 150 IFB churches (note: that’s IFB, not Evangelical, Protestant, or even just Baptist). With a population of 418,000, that’s quite a few churches. And I know a lot (not all) of them are weak and anemic from splits, strife, and all manner of fracturing.

Do we need more churches planted in America? Yes - desperately. But our most desperate need is in the places where Starbucks won’t go - truly rural and inner-city.

The west is truly in sad shape. In the county that I live there is only one IFB church that is not kjvonly and most (including the one that is not kjvonly) are pastored by men with very little if any education. This is in a county with 250k people.

I would love to see a church plant from a Faith, Maranatha, Central, Detroit, BJU, grad here. A bible chuch would be great to. Are you seminary students listening?

Who said: “In the county that I live …”

Question - where?

Kitsap County Wa.

• Yes in urban areas - example 1
  
  
  
  • We work in downtown Minneapolis
  
  
  • We are thinking about moving downtown into a condo - probably in the North Loop neighborhood
  
  
  • Minneapolis’ downtown population is about 35,000
  
  
  • With the new Vikings stadium and the soon to be constructed Wells Fargo project AND with all of the new condos and apartments
  
  
  • They hope to see the population downtown double to 70,000
  
  
  • Most of the growth is young professionals (pre-children) and older retired people.
  
  
  
  


• Yes in urban areas - example 2
  
  
  
  • The black community is underserved with Bible teaching churches
  
  
  • The immigrant community is likewise underserved (in Minneapolis: Indians, Hmong, Somali)
  
  
  
  


• Yes in areas of high population growth:
  
  
  
  • Western North Dakota - a rough and tumble area growing because of oil shale
  
  
  • Sioux Falls - rapid growth
  
  
  
  

that would mean

• The grandkids would be more than a days drive away.
• You’d be among strangers (foreigners meaning no Cracker Barrels).
• (in the case of California) you’d be living in Sodom and Gomorra. You’d loose your family to the ……
• one of a thousand reasons not to minister west of Continental divide.

[josh p]

The west is truly in sad shape. In the county that I live there is only one IFB church that is not kjvonly and most (including the one that is not kjvonly) are pastored by men with very little if any education. This is in a county with 250k people.

I would love to see a church plant from a Faith, Maranatha, Central, Detroit, BJU, grad here. A bible chuch would be great to. Are you seminary students listening?