Half
of PCUSA churches
are in towns or rural areas
Nearly half of all congregations in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are located in small towns or rural areas, according to the results of a new national survey released earlier this year. The survey also found that most PCUSA congregations are financially healthy.
The PCUSA was one of 41 U.S. religious organizations that participated in the "Faith Communities Today" (FACT) survey, which researchers say is the most extensive study of U.S. congregational life, ever conducted. The study was initiated by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford (Conn.) Seminary, with funding from the Lilly Endowment.
A total of 14,301 congregations were included in the survey. The PCUSA's office of research services collected responses from 541 Presbyterian congregations.
Among the other findings about the PCUSA:
Conflict is something most churches have in common, the survey reveals. A whopping 79 percent of the congregations from all participating religious bodies said they had experienced conflict in the previous five years. In 23 percent of those congregations the conflict was described as "very serious."
-- Presbyterians Today