Biggest LCMS Churches 2016

I know LCMS churches are losing out to mega-churches, and maybe the extra-large church isn't really a Lutheran thing. There are some LCMS churches in America with over 3,000 baptized members. However, I thought it was interesting to note average attendance percentage with these Lutheran chuches. The LCMS church we attend has about 520 baptized members with 230 coming each week. We'll say 45%. I can't tell you whether that's good or bad, but I know it's a slightly higher percentage than the last two LCMS churches we attended.

But what about these super-big LCMS churches? What are their percentages like? Let's look at the 2016 numbers to see how they stack up. Remember, you want a higher percentage here because it's not just about how many names are on your roster.

Hales Corners - Hales Corners, Wis. = 37%

Concordia - San Antonio, Texas = 30%

St. John - Ellisville, Mo. = 33%

Hosanna - Mankato, Minn. = 35%

St. Lorenz - Frankenmuth, Mich. = 32%

Immanuel - Macomb, Mich. = 27%

Trinity - Roselle, Ill. = 20%

Saint Johns - Orange, Calif. = 42%

King of Kings - Omaha, Neb. = 50%

Faith - Appleton, Wis. = 23%

Divine Shepherd - Omaha, Neb. = 26%

St. Lukes - Oviedo, Fla. = 33%

Woodbury - Woodbury, Minn. = 36%

St. Peter - Macomb, Mich. = 30%

St. Peters - Columbus, Ind. = 29%

Zion - St. Charles, Mo. = 26%

Mount Olive - Weston, WI = 28%

Immanuel - St. Charles, MO = 28%

Immanuel - Seymour, Ind. = 27%

Trinity - Utica, WI = 43%

Trinity Klein - Spring, TX = 40%

Trinity - Bloomington, IL = 26%

Carmel - Carmel, IN = 40%

Faith - Troy, MI = 41%

Redeemer - Austin, TX = 27%

St. James - Lafayette, IN = 18%

Christ - Phoenix, AZ = 36%

Salem - Tomball, TX = 41%

St. Paul - Decatur, IL = 26%

Redeemer - Ft. Collins, CO = 41%

I highlighted the churches that have below 25% weekly attendance. I am not suggesting these churches go over their list of members, but those numbers seem very low compared to many of the other churches on this list. I also highlighted in green the only LCMS church on this list higher than my own church, as well as the only one at a solid 50% attendance: King of Kings in Omaha, NE.

If you attend an LCMS church, then go ahead and compare these numbers to your own church. The stats might tell you how you're doing in comparison. Maybe some of these churches are just better at counting attendance than others. Maybe percentage attending does not affect how many show up at major holidays. Maybe Carmel (IN) and Immanuel (Macomb, MI) have similar donation numbers along with similar weekly attendance, even if one is at a much higher percentage. That would be my question: do the churches with a higher weekly attendance give more or do more? Do they grow more? Are they in better shape? 

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