When considering the locations of Disciples congregations, the Disciples “fertile crescent” might first come to mind. The crescent begins in West Virginia and Kentucky, where the movement was founded, and spans westward into Missouri and on into the southern plains of Kansas and Oklahoma. However, Disciples congregations exist and serve in a much wider range of settings.
ALEX Yearbook reporting for 2023 data listed 2,887 congregations. Where are those congregations located? Where do Disciples have a concentrated presence, and where is that presence sparser? Regional fellowship groups as well as state and province data can help us explore these questions.
Regional Fellowship Groups
The 31 regions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) connect as five regional fellowship groups: the Northeastern Inter-Regional Fellowship (NIRF), the Southeastern Regional Fellowship (SERF), Heartland, Regions of the Sun Engaged in Service (ROSES), and Western Regions in Ministry (WRIM). Through these geographic groups regions and regional ministers find connection, encouragement, and support.
The Regional Fellowship map displays the geography of the fellowship groups. In addition, the accompanying tables show the count and percentages of congregations, members, and participants within each group.
The map and table data demonstrate that three quarters (75%) of the listed Disciples congregations are located within the Heartland, ROSES, and SERF fellowship groups. Likewise, four out of five members (80%) of Disciples congregations are located within these three fellowship groups. Only 20% of Disciples, according to 2023 reporting, are located outside of these groups.
We may have known this intuitively, but most Disciples can be found in the southern and central United States.
States and Provinces
We can drill deeper by examining data at the state level. The Congregation Density by Population map indicates the concentration of listed Disciples congregations per 100,000 people in each U.S. state and Canadian province.
In this view, the Disciples fertile crescent becomes more apparent. We find the highest concentration of congregations per 100,000 people in Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma. This depiction also illustrates how the early expansion of the Stone-Campbell movement followed the expansion of European settlement westward in the U.S.
Four U.S. states and four Canadian provinces do not contain a Disciple congregation.
Living on Disciples Time
Disciple congregations span seven time zones. The time difference between the easternmost and westernmost congregations is six hours. Five congregations in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island provinces are in the Atlantic Time Zone (UTC-4). Three congregations in Hawaii are in the Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone (UTC-10). One congregation is in the Alaska Time Zone (UTC-9).
Comparing this to the table of congregations by regional fellowship, note that almost 9 in 10 Disciple congregations are in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. These congregations serve in locations with a higher concentration of Disciples. That is, one’s Disciple neighbors are closer. What unique challenges to service and connection arise in sparser settings where that distance is greater?
Diverse Settings
Disciple congregations are diverse in many ways, and location contributes to that diversity. The congregations themselves are diverse in size, style, and culture, and they serve in a wide range of cultural contexts. Looking beyond the 90% of congregations in one portion of the continental U.S. can help us further recognize and appreciate the diversity and complexity of the church.