In my last post I focused on location in a poll that asked why the un-churched choose a church. If you look back, location was #13 of 13. The pastor & his preaching were #1.
Looking below you will notice that the top 9 reasons the churched choose a church. Where is the pastor, he is #8 out of 9. What does this mean? If this research is anywhere near accurate, then when it comes to reaching the churched, the pastor is not nearly as important as he is when it comes to reaching the unchurched.
Could it be that pastors pay too much attention to the churched (which has little effect on their decision on choosing a church) and not enough on the un-churched which according to this research plays a HUGE role in their choosing of a church?
Top 9 Reasons that Church-Attenders Choose a Church(research conducted by the Barna Group in 1999)
58% - Doctrine/Theology
53% - People Caring for Each Other
52% - Preaching
45% - Friendliness
45% - Children’s Programs
43% - Helping the Poor
36% - Denomination
35% - Like the Pastor
26% - Sunday School
What are your thoughts?
I'm not sure our attention is in the wrong place. If Barna is accurate (which he probably is) this data reveals what I have experienced over the years. I have found that most unchurched people who lock into a church do so because their entry point relationship for them has been with the face up front - ie. the Pastor. In the early stages of their Christian life they rely heavily on the Pastor to nurture them and get them moving forward. Then as they move further down the road in their walk with God, they become less dependent on the Pastor because they have devloped a better understanding of the church community and how it functions in relationship with one another. No longer does the person only have a spiritual connection to the face up front, they are connected to a body of believers who provoke them to good works.
ReplyDeleteI may get in trouble for this next portion but I think the data reveals something about Christians that we don't like to discuss. Let's think about whom they surveyed. They surveyed "churched" people. Many times when someone leaves a church it is because they have become disenchanted with the Pastor at some level. People will say things like "we love you Pastor, but...." as they exit and we discern that we are on a need to know basis with them. In other words, "They ain't telling us the whole story."
Sometimes people are more forthright. "We aren't getting fed," or "We want to go to a church that's a little deeper in the things of God." Or, Pastor aside, comments will be made such as "We can't connect at this church," or "We really need to go somewhere where we can find deeper relationships." Look at the findings and you'll see that 6 of the 9 are really all about the individual and their perceptions of church life. So when they go to find a church, naturally those will be the things they look for.
So what's my point? I'm not really sure guys, but from this perspective, it seems that we may need to do a better job of raising self-less Christians in our churches who don't always look out for their own interests, but rather for the interests of others. Perhaps we need to remind them more of the command to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ.
Sorry for the length.
A very astute evaluation. Statistics must always be evaluated through the eyes of the research target group. This may seem too simplistic, but I have continued to share about the American Church: "Most people first connect because they like the pastor, but they stay because they like the people." As long as our churches are personality-driven rather than Great Commission driven, that will continue to be the case, whether we are surveying the churched or the unchurched. Just a thought!
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