Beyond the Ordinary

You say Converts, I say New People

by Deborah Bruce

 

What do we know about people who are recent arrivals to their congregation?  The U.S. Congregational Life Survey reveals important information about this group of worshipers.

 

A recent release from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life examined people who currently are affiliated with a denomination or religion that is different from the one they grew up in.  They refer to these people as “converts.”  But I think that’s a bit of a misnomer.  Pew’s definition says someone who attended a Methodist church as a child and now attends a Presbyterian church is a convert.  And Pew includes people who made such a change a year ago and those who changed 50 years ago in the same “convert” category.  The traditional definition of “convert” refers to people who have changed religion, for example from Islam to Christianity. 

 

We examine this issue in a way that is different in two areas:

 

1.  Instead of looking at religious change over a lifetime, we look at people who began worshiping at their current congregation in the past five years.  These new people are the lifeblood of change in congregational life.  In the typical congregation, about one-third of worshipers began attending in the past five years. 

 

2.  Instead of assuming all of these new people are similar (that is, all “converts”), we look at four categories of new people based on their faith background: 

· First-timers who have never regularly attended anywhere.

· Returnees who participated in a congregation at some time in the past but weren’t attending anywhere recently.

· Switchers who changed denominations or faith groups when they started attending their new congregation.

· Transfers who changed congregations within the same denomination when they started attending their new congregation.

 

How do these four types play out in U.S. congregations?  As the figure shows, very few new people are first-timers with no religious background whatsoever (8%).  That’s because America is—in general—a very “churched” society.  (That might change in the future as more young people today are being raised outside the church.)  Some believe that conservative Protestant churches do a better job of recruiting first-timers, but only 10% of new people in such churches are first-timers.

 

  

Returnees (17%) and switchers (22%) are fairly rare, as well.  Instead the bulk of new people are transfers who have simply changed congregations within their denomination. 

 

Yet, these categories fall out differently for new people in Catholic and Protestant churches.  In Catholic churches, three-quarters of new people (77%) are transfers.  People who are Catholic tend to stay Catholic when they change congregations.  In Protestant churches, there are slightly more switchers (38%) than transfers (31%).  Protestant worshipers are more likely than Catholics to look outside their current denomination when they’re looking for a new church home.

 

Knowing what types of new people are coming to your congregation can help congregational leaders ease new worshipers’ transitions.  Transfers understand what it means to be part of your denomination.  But first-timers, returnees, and switchers lack that knowledge—something that new member classes or other programs for new people can address.

 

In a future post, I’ll talk more about how new people find and choose their new congregations.  Stay tuned!

 

We’ll be taking a short break for the holiday season.  Look for more updates from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey in January.  Merry Christmas!

How do congregations use e-mail?

by Ida Smith-Williams and Cynthia Woolever

 

Three out of four congregations use email to communicate with their members and worshipers. What are they trying to achieve through this technology? Catholic parishes and Protestant churches use email in different ways for different purposes.

 

First, almost all congregations (the 74% who use email to contact members) use email to disseminate information (such as worship times or current news) and publicize congregational events. Catholic parishes are most likely to say they use email in these ways.

 

But other uses of email vary by faith group. Catholic parishes say they use email to help their members engage in ministry (89% report they do). And parishes use email to register members for congregational events (two out of three report they do). Protestant churches also use email in these two ways but to a lesser extent.

 

Protestant churches use email in two different and distinct ways. They report using the technology to inform members of the joys and concerns of other worshipers (76% of mainline Protestant churches report this; 60% of conservative Protestant churches report doing so). Only one in four Catholic parishes use email in this way. Sending devotional messages to members is a second popular use of email among Protestant congregations. Conservative Protestant churches (86%) are most likely to do this kind of emailing. Three out of four Mainline Protestant churches also send out devotional messages.

 

Congregational use of emails is a one-way street most of the time because congregations send out information but rarely ask for feedback. Only about one in four congregations report that they use email to solicit feedback. 

 

Back in 2001, less than half of congregations were using email to communicate with their members. Congregations have come a long way in embracing Internet technology as a tool for their ministries. Yet their use of Internet technology is less interactive than it could be. Currently, congregational email use is more like an electronic newsletter – information goes out but there is little in the structure to allow for responses. Some congregations are already using social networking technology (such as Facebook or Twitter). These Internet technologies have greater potential for enhancing worshipers’ sense of community and belonging.

 

For additional information on congregational Web sites, read comments from Mark Chaves here.

Making Use of Survey Results

by Perry Chang

How do congregations use their results from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey?

Congregations that make the most use of their results are ones that make it part of a general mission study, collective discernment, or strategic planning process.  We learned this from systematic feedback gathered from congregations that participated in the survey.

Congregations that participate in the survey receive three reports summarizing and analyzing the results, along with two books, two videos, and three guides for how to use the results as a catalyst for discussion and discernment within their congregations.  (Learn more about these resources.) Feedback revealed that different congregations use different resources.  One of the favorite resources is the Strengths Report. 

Engagement of congregations with their results varies.  One congregation made participating in the survey and analyzing the survey results the centerpiece of an 18-month study process.  In other cases, a pastor or other congregation leader looked over the results and shared them with no one else.  More typically, a planning group or survey team reviewed the results and shared them in various ways with others in the congregation.

In past years, a few congregations have posted the reports summarizing their survey results on their congregational Web sites, partly as a way to communicate the results with others in the congregation.  More recently, congregations have had the option of sharing with members and worshipers information about how to access the reports on the U.S. Congregations Web site.  This has made it easier to widely share the congregation’s results.

Many congregations that participated in the survey made changes in their congregations as a result of their participation.  Worshipers of one congregation reconsidered the church’s downtown location and ended up recommitting to the downtown area.  Other congregations organized healing services and spiritual retreats to address worshipers’ unmet emotional and spiritual needs.  Still other congregations became more intentional both about reaching out to friends and neighbors to let them know about church ministries and about being hospitable to those who visited worship.  

The outside researchers who gathered feedback from participating congregations concluded:  “In our current society, organizations tend to get overloaded with information requests and reports.  This results in many reports being unused or ignored.  The U.S. Congregational Life Survey process is unique and remarkable.  It clearly helps a substantial number of congregations.  In fact, we were impressed with the number of instances where congregational representatives cited direct and specific benefits of the survey process.  Not every congregation can benefit and not every congregation is ready for the experience.  But for those who are ready and seek information, the survey process is impressive and valuable.”

Is your congregation ready for the experience?  Learn more about taking the survey.