Leader Insights

Church Planting Statistics 2027: Latest 2026 Data and Trends

How many new churches start each year, who plants them, and who do they reach? The latest sourced figures on church starts, funding and new-church attendees from Lifeway Research. Every figure links to its original study. Updated October 2026.

Church planting statistics at a glance

StatisticFigureYearSource
Protestant churches started in 2024 (4,000 closed)3,8002025Lifeway Research
New Protestant churches starting each week in 2024 (77 closing)73 a week2024Leader Insights
Closures as a share of new church starts, 2019 vs. 2024150% to 105%2024Leader Insights
Protestant churches started in 20193,0002019Lifeway Research
Worshippers at churches launched in 2008 to 2014 who were previously unchurched42%2021Lifeway Research
Protestant churches that helped start a new church in the past year36%2025Lifeway Research
Megachurches that helped start or plant a church in the past five years48%2020Lifeway Research
Share of a church plant's funding from its core group or launch team26%2022Lifeway Research
New Hispanic church attendees who never attended church or had not for many years19% and 16%2025Lifeway Research
Congregants at new Hispanic church works who are first-generation Americans65%2025Lifeway Research
New Hispanic church works still using outreach Bible studies69%2025Lifeway Research
Megachurches that opened a new campus in the past five years47%2020Lifeway Research

How many churches start each year?

Who plants new churches?

How are church plants funded?

Who attends new churches?

What outreach do new churches use?

Looking ahead to 2027: what the latest data points to

No 2027 statistics have been published yet. Here is what the newest readings suggest. We update this page as new research arrives.

Church planting statistics: common questions

How many new churches start each year in the U.S.?

Lifeway Research estimates about 3,800 Protestant churches started in 2024, compared with 3,000 in 2019 and 4,000 in 2014. That is about 73 a week. The estimate covers 35 denominations representing 58% of Protestant churches.

Are more churches opening or closing?

Slightly more are closing. About 4,000 Protestant churches closed in 2024 against 3,800 starts, a net loss of 200. In 2019 the net loss was 1,500 (Lifeway Research).

Who plants new churches?

Many established churches take part. 36% of Protestant churches helped start a new church in the past year (Lifeway Research, 2025), and 48% of megachurches helped start or plant one in the previous five years (Lifeway Research, 2020).

How are church plants funded?

In a Lifeway Research study of plants, 26% of funding came from the core group or launch team, 19% from other local churches, 19% from denominations, networks or ministries and 15% from the leader's own earnings or savings (2022).

Do new churches reach unchurched people?

Often. Lifeway Research found 42% of worshippers at churches launched between 2008 and 2014 had never attended church or had not in many years. New Hispanic church works draw 19% attendees who never attended church and 16% who had not for many years (2025).

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About this data

Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Different studies define the same topic differently, so figures from different sources are not directly comparable; each is labeled with its publisher and year.