The church is not a business, but in several ways, church attendance is a supply and demand concept—people want religious attachment and an opportunity to exercise their spirituality. Most churches have a fixed dogma that attracts segments of that spiritual population. The extent to which a church can adapt their religious practices to meet a broader need, the more likely it is that attendance and contributions will grow.

Moreover, the church community is subject to many secular economic and social trends which influence the availability of talent, the ability to identify and attract new congregants, and meet their pastoral obligations.

The eight markets trends in this infographic have been gleaned from the original fifteen as having the strongest applicability to the church community.

Rich Froeschle is a Senior Labor Market Economist at Texas State Technical College. He explores fifteen societal and labor market trends in his white paper released in 2021 that are likely to have a residual impact on higher education, the job market, and student preparation in the aftermath of the pandemic. Several of these phenomena have direct relevance to churches and religious organizations and have been highlighted in this infographic.