Study: Area churches create meaningful community impact

A report in the works for two years by researchers at Missouri State and Drury universities found area churches create a significant impact when it comes to community services.

Dubbed Springfield-Area Congregations Study: Profile and Community Engagement, the report complements MSU’s research on social capital and civic engagement and Drury’s 2014 Nonprofit Impact Study, according to a news release. The study - which identified 549 congregations in Greene and Christian counties - did not attempt to directly measure the economic impact of congregational activities.

“There needed to be a study that shows how many churches there are, who they are and what they are doing,” said Dan Prater, executive director of the Drury Center for Nonprofit Leadership, in the release. “It reinforces the truth that community issues require community collaboration and change.”

Greene County reportedly has a higher density of congregations compared with other similarly sized counties in the United States, at 355 congregations. The county also ranked highly in terms of population, with 52 percent of adherents among the 2010 count of 275,174 residents.

Among findings, 88 percent of the 176 congregations that completed the survey sponsor social service programs serving the broader community, and 82 percent provide volunteers for schools, social service efforts and other community agencies, according to the release.

Other key findings:
    •    16 percent of congregational leaders are women and 7 percent are members of a racial minority;
    •    77 percent have leaders involved in community activities;
    •    90 percent work with other congregations or community groups; and
    •    91 percent have at least one organized group for members, such as Bible studies or social groups.

“The most interesting finding for me is there is a high level of participation among all churches, but larger churches tend to be more involved,” said Catherine Hoegeman, MSU assistance professor of sociology, in the release. “The next step is to see why that is and if there are ways to offer partnerships with smaller churches who often do not have the same resources.”