Monday Morning Insights

Photo of Todd
    .

    And the #1 Reason People Leave Your Church is…

    Bookmark and Share

    Here are the top ten reasons they found that people switch churches:

    1.  The church was not helping me to develop spiritually.  (28%)
    2.  I did not feel engaged or involved in meaningful church work (20%)
    3.  Church members were judgmental of others (18%)
    4.  pastor was not a good preacher (16%)
    5.  Too many changes (16%)
    6.  Members seemed hypocritical (15%)
    7.  Church didn’t seem to be a place where God was at work (14%)
    8.  Church was run by a clique that discouraged involvement (14%)
    9.  Pastor was judgmental of others (14%)
    10.  Pastor seemed hypocritical (13%)

    Church switchers are defined as Protestant Americans who have attended more than one church regularly as an adult.

    “There are two types of people who slip out through the back door of the church,” said Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research. “One group is probably leaving church permanently, and the other group is going to find a new church.”

    To understand why adults choose to change churches, 415 “non-mover” church switchers - who changed churches for reasons other than changes to their residential location - were surveyed in December 2006.

    The study results indicate that overall, those who change churches for reasons other than moving are more likely fleeing their previous church rather than being drawn to another. Fifty-eight percent of study participants said the greatest impact on their decision to switch churches was “my need/desire to leave my previous church.” The other 42 percent left because of the desire to join their current church.

    The top two specific reasons people leave their church have to do with their needs not being fulfilled by their previous church.

    Of all reasons churchgoers choose to leave their previous church, the No. 1 specific reason is because the “church was not helping me to develop spiritually.” Twenty-eight percent of non-mover church switchers indicated this as the reason.

    Another 20 percent of respondents said they left because they “did not feel engaged or involved in meaningful church work.”

    Another common element among church switchers is disenchantment with church members. Eighteen percent of respondents indicated “church members were judgmental of others,” as a specific reason for switching.

    Other member-related reasons for switching are “members seemed hypocritical” (15 percent), “church didn’t seem to be a place where God was at work” (14 percent), and “church was run by a clique that discouraged involvement” (14 percent).

    Disenchantment with the pastor is also a common reason churchgoers switch. Sixteen percent cite the “pastor was not a good preacher” as a specific reason for leaving their previous church. Also in the top 10 are the following: “pastor was judgmental of others” (14 percent) and “pastor seemed hypocritical” (13 percent).

    Sixteen percent of survey respondents said too many changes in general drove them to switch churches.

    One respondent said, “The pastor of my previous church left and the new pastor was radically different, and the music switched from traditional to rock music.”

    According to McConnell, “These church switchers leave because they are unhappy with changes in the overall direction of the church. Respondents had the opportunity to select specific changes they did not like, such as worship style, teachings, or a staff member leaving, but the largest proportion selected too many changes in general - the culmination of many changes in the previous church they did not like.”

    Church switchers’ disenchantment and disappointment with their previous church’s failure to meet their needs differ from those who do not return to church.

    SOURCE:  The Biblical Recorder… Read more here.

    FOR DISCUSSION:  What do you think?  Is the results of this survey typical of what’s happening at your church.  (Think about both the reasons for people leaving; and the reasons people are giving you they they are now attending your church.)

    More people switch churches because their old church wasn't meeting their spiritual needs than any other reason, a recent survey found. The latest findings from the LifeWay Research area of LifeWay Christian Resources give the top 10 reasons adults switch churches. This study builds on LifeWay Research's 2006 study of the formerly churched, which explored the reasons adults stop going to church. The current findings explain why people change churches and how these situations differ from those in which the individual does not resume church attendance at all.

    Comments

    if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, they will displayed on any website that supports them.

    1. Peter Hamm on Wed, April 04, 2007

      My responses.


      1.  The church doesn’t exist to spoon-feed us. Rather, we exist to serve God in community.


      2.  Many of us who say this aren’t even “plugged in” to meaningful church work


      3.  Yes, and that sounds like a judgemental statement to me, and I’ve made it before!


      4.  In Modern America the sermon has become the center of church life. wrong…


      5.  Hey, the world changes, everything changes except God


      6.  Yes, we are all hypocritical, and they will be in the next church you go to.


      7.  WE are God at work.


      8.  The first really legitimate complaint I read here.


      9.  If true, the second…


      10.  See 6 above.


      I’m sorry to say this, but in my experience, most of the “complaints” of people who leave churches I’ve served in have been selfish and shallow. (Not all, but most…) This list just confirms that for me. Sometimes, people want to be “fed” as if they are animals at a trough where the pastor is the farmer doling out food. (Sounds like we have a spiritual eating disorder in America.)


      We have such great resources for spiritual growth in our churches and in our homes (the average American home has half a dozen Bibles I once heard) that if we really want to grow, we will.

    2. kent on Wed, April 04, 2007

      From what I have been able to discern those who leave our church do so because they have not been able to meaningfully connect with others. Whose responsibility that is does not seem to matter when the results are the same.

    3. Randy Willis on Wed, April 04, 2007

      I agree with Peter.


      And I’m not convinced that #1 is really #1. I think it’s really just a smokescreen. Fact is, people (including pastors) know how to make a selfish decision sound spiritual.

    4. Andy McAdams on Wed, April 04, 2007

      It has always bothered me when I would hear that someone left a church due to it “not meeting their needs”.  I would scratch my head and often say, “When we come to meet needs rather then ours being met,  then we’ll find that our needs are met as a by-product.”

    5. Christian Web Trends on Wed, April 04, 2007

      Most people who leave a church say “I was not being fed” in an attempt to spiritualize and justify their leaving.  What it reveals is the person’s self-centeredness and consumerism mentality. I would love to see a survey of people who recently left a church and claim it was because they were not being fed, which asked:


      1) How often do you read your Bible?


      2) In what capacity were you serving in your church?


      3) Were you a part of a small group?


      4) How many people have you shared your faith with or invited to church this year?


      5) What percentage of your spiritual growth do you think is your responsibilty, and what percentage is your church’s?

    6. bishopdave on Wed, April 04, 2007

      The biggest factor shared with me has been life change—newly empty nest, so the couple makes the change since everything else has changed for them; kid goes from elementary to Jr. High, or Jr. High to High School, suddenly none of the kids at our church go to school with him/her, so it’s time to find a church where the school friends do go.


      We live in a country where we can shop like this as opposed to being in Upper Mongolia with one gospel-believing church for 100 miles and we just would have to put up with it.

    7. Brent on Wed, April 04, 2007

      I’m always dissapointed at how my first reaction is to brush these off as “selfish” before really diving into what’s behind them.  Sometimes it’s easier for me to do that than look at how I could address some of these issues in a Godly way.


      1)  Yes, some of this could be selfishness, but the church is the place people come to be spiritually fed.  In order for them to learn that “meeting someone else’s need also meet’s mine” the church has to disciple and show them this.  Often we call this selfish when in reality we dropped the ball on discipleship.


      2) and 8)  Many churches are horrible at assimilation.  Same people do all the work, new people are just expected to watch.  How can we better engage people in Kingdom work?


      3 and 9) Just because these statements are judgemental doesn’t make them untrue.


      4) This one a lot of times is a taste issue, but it also could be a reminder for Pastor’s to continually improve their communication.


      5) Change needs to happen, but churches who do change well (explaining the change, not implementing it to quickly, making change a part of vision) will do better.


      6) and 10) We’re all hypocritical at times, but it’s a problem when we act like we’re not.


      Some people are just going to leave, some are going to make up excuses.  We can’t dwell on them, but it might be good for us to at least try and learn from those excuses.  Not so we can bring those people back (it’s better to let them go), but so we can continually strive to be a place where people are brought into the work of God’s Kingdom and grow in Him.

    8. Leonard on Wed, April 04, 2007

      I live with the assumption that I will only have a short time with any person in our church.  That means I think it is imperative to get people plugged into a clear process of connection, growth and service.  What I am working on right now is helping people see where “it” happens more clearly. 


      For example. 


      If “it” is connection and relationships… ministry teams and small groups


      If “it” is spiritual formation and basics…  1on1 or fresh faith classes


      If “it” is contributing to the cause… Volunteer in gift drive ministry find a need drive place to serve


      If “it” is in depth study of the word… Small groups and spiritual health skills


      Every person has an “it” and we as a leader must define the “it” itches we will and wont scratch.  Once we know this every ministry must be designed to scratch “it” in a significant way.

    9. DanielR (a different Daniel) on Wed, April 04, 2007

      Where’s the love?  Most the comments so far seem to be fairly dismissive of most of the reasons listed.


      There are churches that just “do” church on Sunday and don’t do much else to help people grow and develop.  No guided Bible study or small groups or anything else.  There are churches where volunteering means serving as a parking lot attendant, usher, or maybe in child care, all of which are necessary and important but may not be viewed as “meaningful church work”.   I have a friend who was a member of a church when Bikers for Christ showed up at a service, unannounced, and no one would talk to them and several people were heard to ask “What are those people doing in church?”  She was so embarrassed by the church’s lack of welcome and disdain for fellowship that she took a closer look at the spirit of the church and began looking for another church.  There are churches where members and/or staff are hypocritical or judgmental.  


      #7 “Church didn’t seem to be a place where God was at work” – see Growing in Grace Ministries/Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda (although I’m sure Miranda would say that’s not true since he works there and he claims to be God).  http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/wink.gif


      Just because none of these reasons are valid at your church doesn’t mean they aren’t valid somewhere else.  And just maybe some of them are just a little bit valid in some small way at your church?

    10. Jan on Wed, April 04, 2007

      Randy wrote:  “And I’m not convinced that #1 is really #1. I think it’s really just a smokescreen.


      Fact is, people (including pastors) know how to make a selfish decision sound spiritual. “


      That is exactly what I wanted to say.  Now, I’m sure there ARE some churches that aren’t feeding people spiritually.  But the vast majority of discontented church members, in my opinion, leave because they don’t like change, or because they don’t actually want to DO anything, or because they don’t like the style.


      It’s all about their preferences, and God is very rarely in the picture.  We have a bunch of spoiled babies who have been Christians for years, but have chosen to live life according to what the world is doing. And when the church starts moving and they get angry, what is that about?


      I’ve actually had supposedly solid church members, who’ve served in leadership positions, stay home from honesty exciting ministry, because their favorite show was on television.


      I think this type of person often leaves to find another church, because they feel guilty that they aren’t serving God with a kingdom view. They know better, but they just don’t want to committ to changing their lifestyle to accomodate the values of Jesus.


      Whan a Christian can look me in the eye and not even be halfway interested, when I tell them that 10 people just made decisions for Christ and then they leave the church because they are


      “not being fed” , who is it really about?  (Yup true story)

    11. concerned child of God on Thu, January 22, 2009

      I agree with Peter Hamm, Christian Web Trends and Brent.  All have valid points.  I googled the term “reasons to leave your church” and this was the first match.  My church is in transition, we once had almost 900 members in attendance a week five years ago. Now we are barely breaking the 300 mark…that’s a huge loss.  Some I know are going to other churches—others have stopped going altogether…We have had our second pastor in the past 4 years and attendance is still declining…I have seen the range—very active members to just church goers stop coming.  I have heard many of the reasons stated by the survey.  I believe we are in a spiritual battle—most people will not tell a church they are leaving—they just leave.  I have been saddened that the #1 response is what I have heard from the members I contacted after they have left our church.  Every ministry in our church is suffering…I have been praying for God to guide my efforts and to what role I play in this scenario—nothing has been clear yet.  I am actively reading the Bible, devotions and Purpose driven books, and am helping in several areas and praying for all but I have had a sense of dread and loss over my church :-( Some people would say the pastors have not been a good fit (some say integrity has been an issue—that is scary and am still researching the allegations)...others would say the current ministries are not dedicated and are ineffective at best…what do you when your weekly worship service seems to be missing that spiritual component?  Do you stay and to what point???  How much prayer is required to revive a church?  At some point it is ok for a church to die?  If so, when?  Any input is appreciated.

    12. Blue Eyes on Sun, June 28, 2009

      interesting post… thanks!

    13. Zeva on Tue, July 07, 2009

      Sorry. Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but, unlike charity, it should end there. Help me! I find sites on the topic: Play free video slots online. I found only this - super Slots. Particularly free online slots that have been in huge demand recently with many gamblers taking prime interest in it. To find more information on online slot games free online slots visit freeonlineslot. Waiting for a reply :confused:, Zeva from Greece.

    14. A child of God on Sun, July 26, 2009

      I admit that I am a sinner. We all are. However, it pains me to hear that some of our church leaders are stupping so low as to gossip about other people’s problems in their local community at church.  I suppose one should find honor in being a sacrificial lamb as long as their is a good lesson behind it and/or it was done in the name of helping others.


      However, making an example of or attacking a person in public is mean spirited judgemental and hypocritcal.  And not very christian like,


      I personally would not want to attend a church that engages in such negitive treatment of the people that live in their community.   Therefore, if our church leaders can’t say something kind and give a positive sermon on a subject.  Perhaps they should say nothing at all.

    15. D on Mon, August 03, 2009

      I love this information. we are experiencing a decline in our membership also at this time. i wish people would give you an exit interview upon leaving or talk to you about concerns before leaving.

    16. Page 1 of 2 pages  1 2 >

      Post a Comment

    17. (will not be published)

      Remember my personal information

      Notify me of follow-up comments?

    Sponsors