Average congregation size

[purplesquares]

I'm a bit of a lapsed Christian (CofE) and only really go at Christmas and for weddings etc. However I'm currently expecting DC1 and thought I should make more effort to go regularly if I'm planning to have the baby christened. I went to my local church this morning and was surprised by the size of the congregation. There must have been only 30 people there including the choir. Is this pretty normal outside of peak season (ie. Christmas?) Everyone seemed lovely but it would perhaps be nice to find somewhere a bit more lively...

It depends where you are... my church is in a smallish village and that would be a healthy turn out for us. Where you have a Church in a city, or a 'free' church, the congregations tend to be bigger because they have a wider intake. There will be busier churches in your area, you need to ask around.

My DH attends church of England churches. One has about 12 on an average sunday, And 40 in another church. Both rural villages

I go to a Roman catholic church, in a rural town. We get about 220, split over 2 services.

As said upthread it varies. We get between 40-50 each week. At the big Christmas services it goes up to 100+. The churches either side of me get 200+ for a well done evangelical style service with a praise band and 100+ for middle of the road choral civic church. Some people like the smaller family feel of a church like mine, others prefer larger congregations. If you are in a university town there is probably a big student church or a cathedral. Try a few to see where you feel comfortable.

Approx 1000, spread over three masses on a Sunday. And 40-100 at weekday mass. Fridays are always fairly full.

Small RC Cathedral with a thriving community. Although few live in the parish itself.

About 350 including kids on a regular Sunday morning at our Baptist church.

We have over 300 - C of E.

About 350-400 Elim Church

150 most Sunday mornings at my church.

About 400 spread over a few congregations, of all ages. Average Sunday morning 150-200 people. It's lovely, but I've really appreciated being in a smaller church too, where people all know one another and look out for each other. There's a lot of that in a bigger church too but easier to slip through the net. I guess it's a case of looking around and seeing what feels like a fit for you.

We have 5 Masses In two churches with about 200 in one and 300 in other at each so total weekly attendance around 1,300 total.
Our own village churches (group of 8 tiny churches in parish) probably has 60 or so at main services.

Good points, Madhairday.

Big churches are not always as great as they seem. A lot of big COfE churches recognise this and split into “pastorates” - groups of about 50 people, perhaps centred on geography or life stage. They will have a pastor who oversees and encourages them as they meet midweek in smaller groups.

Growing in Christ means building relationships with other Christians, and going deeper than you get from a typical Sunday service.

The catholic ethos of going to mass regardless of faith just to tick the box is meaningless.