UPDATE: Outreach magazine has now published the corrected list.

:: READ MORE HERE :: 

UPDATE: Outreach magazine mistakenly published the wrong data in the 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches list. 

:: READ MORE HERE ::

Outreach magazine recently published their 5th annual special issue, which highlights the 100 largest and 100 fastest-growing churches in America. This year they partnered with Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research to compile both lists.

In previous years, the list of the 100 fastest-growing churches in America was determined only by how many total attendees a church gained. Obviously, this approach favored the very largest churches. This year’s list factors the numerical growth and the percentage growth of each church.

Below are 2007’s top 10 fastest-growing churches in America. I have not been able to figure their ranking formula yet. I am hesitant to say it, but this list does not make sense to me. See why after the “top 10.”

2007’s Top 10 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches (Wrong Rankings)

1. Iglesia Cristiana Segadores de Vida (Hollywood, FL) :: Ruddy Gracia
   >> 3,050 numerical growth
   >> 109% percentage growth
2. Calvary Community Church (Phoenix, AZ) :: J. Mark Martin
   >> 2,344 numerical growth
   >> 26% percentage growth
3. Elevation Church (Charlotte, NC) :: Steven Furtick
   >> 1,965 numerical growth
   >> 444% percentage growth
4. New Life Church (Conway, AR) :: Rick Bezet
   >> 2,000 numerical growth
   >> 108% percentage growth
5. Valley Bible Fellowship (Bakersfield, CA) :: Ron Vietti
   >> 3,600 numerical growth
   >> 52% percentage growth
6. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
   >> 3,000 numerical growth
   >> 30% percentage growth
7. Thomas Road Baptist Church (Lynchburg, VA) :: Jonathan Falwell
   >> 4,750 numerical growth
   >> 37% percentage growth
8. The Richmond Outreach Center (Richmond, VA) :: Geronimo Aguilar
   >> 2,100 numerical growth
   >> 100% percentage growth
9. Redemption World Outreach Center (Greenville, SC) :: Ron Carpenter
   >> 2,000 numerical growth
   >> 31% percentage growth
10. Champions Centre (Tacoma, WA) :: Kevin Gerald
    >> 1,500 numerical growth
    >> 30% percentage growth

For the full list, visit Outreach magazine’s website.

WHY THIS LIST DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.

Notice in the following four pairings how the church ranked as the “faster-growing church” is actually growing slower by percentage and numerically than the church ranked lower. This top 100 list seems full of such inconsistencies.

RANK — # GROWTH — % GROWTH — CHURCH
#2  —  2,344  —  26%  —  Calvary Community Church (Phoenix, AZ)
#6  —  3,000  —  30%  —  Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX)

#4   —  2,000  —  108%  —  New Life Church (Conway, AR)
#35  —  2,200  —  163%  —  Community of Faith (Cypress, TX)

#21  —  1,000  —  77%  —  Trinity Evangelical Free Church (Redlands, CA)
#39  —  2,230  —  81%  —  Community Christian Church (Naperville, IL)

#27  —  1,405  —  7%  —  Saddleback Church (Lake Forest)
#40  —  3,413  —  21%  —  LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK)

Am I missing something? Or does this list really not make sense?