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Why Do People Leave Your Church?
Orginally published on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at 5:07 AM
by Todd Rhoades
Why do people leave the church? A new study by LifeWay Research found reasons, some inevitable, why some people stopped attending church...
Labeled as the “formerly churched,” 59 percent of those who left the church did so because of “changes in life situation.” This was the dominant reason found in the survey conducted to better understand why people leave the church.
More specifically, LifeWay Research Director Brad Waggoner pointed out two life-situation reasons why adults stop attending church. According to the study, 19 percent of the formerly churched “simply got too busy to attend church,” and 17 percent said “family/home responsibilities prevented church attendance.”
Other reasons explained were moving too far from the church, work situation and divorce or separation.
Another common reason adults leave the church is “disenchantment with pastor/church.” The study reported 37 percent of adults cited this as a reason for no longer attending. Some of the factors contributing to disenchantment included the behavior of church members. LifeWay reported that 17 percent said church members “seemed hypocritical” and “were judgmental of others,” and 12 percent said “the church was run by a clique that discouraged involvement.”
“While some may use disenchantment issues as a smokescreen to hide behind, the large percent of the formerly churched who struggle with disenchantment deserve some honest attention,” Waggoner commented, according to LifeWay.
Still, 80 percent of the formerly churched do not have a strong belief in God, which the study indicated may account for their higher priorities of work and family over church. Also, among the top 10 reasons adults leave the church, only two were related to spiritual causes, the report highlighted, with 14 percent saying the church was not helping them develop spiritually and another 14 percent saying they stopped believing in organized religion.
The church, however, may have prevented some losses if it showed more care, stated the study.
“The responsibility and influence of the church varies across the different reasons for withdrawal,” said Waggoner. “One clear influence is the expectations that churches have of attendees as they come into the life of the church.”
He went further to explain that many churches are afraid of asking too much of the churchgoers, fearing they would leave.
Yet the study suggested for more discipleship and commitment from church attendants along with a greater show of care. The study found that 16 percent of those who left the church said nobody contacted them after they left and another 16 percent said nobody seemed to care that they left.
“In the end, it’s important for church leaders to not only assume responsibility for those who seek to join their churches, but also for those who attempt to leave,” said Waggoner. “Be vigilant at both the front door and the back door of the church.”
Other study findings showed that 24 percent consider themselves “spiritual, but not religious;” 42 percent said they are “Christian, but not particularly devout;” 19 percent said they are “a devout Christian with a strong belief in God;” 10 percent confessed to wavering on Christianity; and 6 percent said they were wavering on belief in God.
LifeWay Research launched four new projects this fall to include churches and ministries beyond the Southern Baptists and results are expected through December of this year. A second part of the study on the formerly churched will be released next week to find how churches can win back those who left. This study was conducted on 469 adults who regularly attended a Protestant church as an adult in the past but stopped doing so.
FOR DISCUSSION: Does this match up with your own experience? Are these the same reasons people leave your church?
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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.
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Post Your Comments:Peter,
I agree with your comment to John about being careful not to carry the example of Jesus’ straight across to the role of pastor. Indeed He was our savior, God incarnate, much more than a leadership example.
However, don’t you think that we should consider His example in regard to many (perhaps all) of our interactions with people? For example; I look to Jesus interactions with the sinners and tax collectors and children when I consider how I should respond with grace to the least, the last and the lost; and I consider Jesus’ interactions with His disciples when I think about my responsibility to those I lead (and of course, these two just scratch the surface).
And, in keeping with the theme of this thread, I’m thinking that if we considered Jesus life as an example of how we should interact with those who fill our churches (and also who live in our communities), we’d go a long way to closing the back doors of our churches (and better shepherd and equip people in the process).
Wendi
I truly believe a reformation is coming to the Western church. I heard someone speak recently that God doesn’t even recognize the American church… it’s not based on the biblical model. Of course, there is much good that goes on and God is blessing a lot of people in this nation. But, something better, stronger and more effective is coming. I think an indication that we are moving in the wrong direction is when we spend so much energy tying to convice people to stay. The church isn’t an end in itself… it’s a missional organization. The Sunday morning experience simply won’t suffice. We see in Acts that they were in the temple daily… in addition to being in homes. The 24 hour church is emerging, and the expected participation will blow what we see now way away. In regard to God ‘not speaking anymore’ as someone noted, I, of course, radically disagree. To not know what God would have us do, what our mission is day by day, is to wander around in the dark. Just as a military commander will assign people to fulfill a role, usually based on their abilities and interests, an apostolic leader will do the same. If we come at this from a mission driven point of view we’ll understand that we need ‘all hands on deck’. We are to equp the saints… and then help them step into an active ministry position within the body. We don’t feed them to keep them on Sunday mornings… we feed and equip so they can help cause the mandate from God for the church to come to pass.
John,
Just curious, but do you pastor? I am not asking to argue but I just want to know where your perspective is coming from. You obviously have a great deal of passion and it comes through in your writing. BTW Welcome.
I launched a church in 2001 and then transitioned it into a house of prayer about 10 months ago. We’re a prophetic intercession ministry… and we engage in strategic Kingdom advance through spiritual warfare, missions events and other apostolic focuses. We believe we’ll see our entire city transformed into a city church at some point… several departments birthed out of the furnace of night and day prayer.
Thanks, I can appreciate the journey. I have launced 2 churches myself.
Wendi,
Jesus is the best example of leadership who ever lived. And the smartest human ever. His way of leading his followers should be studied and followed. He showed us how to live our lives, and his example is perfect.
He was NOT a pastor… He was itinerant. So to take his actions as normative for pastoring without examining the context would be wrong, imho.
My husband and I are both about to leave our church. Here is our reason: Our pastor and other ministry heads blatantly lied to us and used and manipulated our gifts and skills when they needed them and when others stepped forward to serve, we were nonchalantly tossed aside like used newspapers. We were very active in the ministry, recognized by many as leadership and appreciated by the people we loved and served. The coldness with which we were treated was hurtful beyond words and I am not sure that I will ever really recover from this incident. My husband wants to find another church, I am not sure I will ever bother. I have seen this happen too many times where church becomes more like a highschool prom committee than a group of mature believers loving each other and walking alongside each other in times of happiness or pain. The games that the pastor played with people were cruel. We are not the only ones that got tossed on the used pile. There were others before us and I am quite sure there will be others after us.
People leave because they are told to. I was in a SBC church and because my husband was not a believer I was told to leave. Perhaps exit poles should be based on what pastors tell therir sheep and not put the burden on the sheep! I don’t think Jesus ever told a person you can’t come here because of what someone related to them had done or would do. I think if you want to have people attend you shouldn’t tell them you can’t! God bless. ld
ld,
You were actually told to leave because your husband was not a believer yet? That would be the most RIDICULOUS thing I ever heard. With all due respect, I hope that church either changes its tune or closes its doors… and soon…
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