And the #1 Reason People Leave Your Church is…
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, April 04, 2007
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- (16) comments so far
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.
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