Beyond the Ordinary

Surfing for God?

By Ida Smith-Williams

A sample of worshipers participating in Wave 2 of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey answered questions about email and internet use related to their faith. Three-fourths of worshipers (75%) report going online to access the Internet or to send and receive email for any purpose. These worshipers then told us about their Web and email use.

What faith-related things are worshipers looking for on the Internet? Worshipers don't seem to be using the internet for random surfing about religion. Most often they are checking their congregation's Web site (82% of worshipers say their congregation has a Web site, and 73% of worshipers visited their congregation's Web site) and vising Web sites related to their faith (72%).

Here's what else they are doing online related to their own faith:

• Looking for information about their own faith (46%)
• Reading online news about religious affairs (37%)
• Downloading or listening to music with religious or spiritual themes (31%)
• Looking for information about other faiths (28%)
• Subscribing to a faith-oriented listserv or email service (20%)
• Getting ideas for important religious ceremonies such as weddings or funerals (16%)
• Getting ideas for ways to celebrate religious holidays (16%)
• Making a donation to a faith-based charitable group (13%)
• Giving or receiving faith-oriented guidance or support (13%)

Very few are involved in these faith-related online activities:

• Visting social network sites such as Facebook or MySpace for religious purposes (10%)
• Finding a new church (9%)
• Finding religious activities or daycare for children (7%)
• Exploring non-traditional faith practices, such as meditation, crystals, et. (6%)
• Participating in online worship services (6%)

Worshipers visiting Web sites related to their faith don't do so very often. Almost half of worshipers noted that they visit religious Web sites several times a year or less often (46%). A quarter said "several times a month" (25%); one in six visited once a week or more often (16%); and only one in eight visited such Web sites daily (13%).

Likewise, worshipers don't seem to be using email "religiously." In the previous year, worshipers used email to:

• Contact another member of their congregation (48%)
• Forward an email with spiritual or religious content to another member (31%)
• Conduct congregational business (24%)
• Plan religious activities (23%)
• Make a prayer request (23%)
• Plan an event for the congregation (22%)
• Seek religious or spiritual guidance (15%)
• Give religious or spiritual guidance (14%)
• Participate in a listserv or online group related to the congregation (9%)

While worshipers use the Internet and email as much as the general population, they don't do so for religious purposes very often and their goals are typically specific and definite. Few are "surfing for God."

Sermon length

by Deborah Bruce

The vatican recently encouraged priests to keep their sermons to less than eight minutes. Archbishop Nikola Eterovic (a Vatican official) suggested short sermons to fit short attention spans. "The homily in general should not go over eight minutes—the average amount of time for a listener to concentrate," he said. He also suggested that clergy should work to ensure their sermons are engaging and relevant, perhaps addressing current issues—either locally or nationally.

How long is the typical sermon or homily?

It depends on the congregation's denomination or faith group. Catholic priests come closest to the Vatican's suggestion. Almost half of Catholic parishes have sermons or homilies that are 10 minutes or less.

Conservative Protestants are at the other extreme. Worshipers in eight in ten conservative Protestant churches listen to sermons that are more than 20 minutes long. Mainline preachers are in between—most of their sermons are in the 11- to 20-minute range.

Typical Sermon Length:
(Percentage of Congregations Reporting Sermons of Each Length)

	Catholic Parishes	Conservative Protestant Churches	Mainline Protestant Churches
10 minutes or less	47%	0%	11%
11 to 20 minutes	47%	18%	61%
21 to 30 minutes	6%	55%	27%
31 to 60 minutes	0%	27%	1%

So if your attention span is particularly short this week, consider worshiping in a Catholic church.

Are young children the greatest source of new members?

by Cynthia Woolever

Some tout programming for children and youth as the essential ingredient for maintaining congregational vitality and fostering numerical growth. Our research addressed the importance of this factor. We looked at the ability of a number of factors to predict numerical growth: worshiper demographics, congregational features (such as size, denomination), geographic location, and other dimensions of congregational strength (such as providing meaningful worship and relying on empowering leadership). We found that congregations grew when three factors were present:

1. A higher percentage of worshipers were new (began attending in the past five years). Growing congregations institutionalize many ways to invite, welcome, and incorporate new people.
2. The congregation takes intentional steps to involve worshipers in the congregation beyond just attending services. Growing congregations encourage worshipers to be involved in small groups, hold leadership roles, participate in decision-making, and have hands-on ministry experiences.
3. Parents and children attend together. Congregations grow when parents express satisfaction with what is offered for children and youth, and the congregation as a whole values this ministry

While the presence of children and you and the quality of offerings for this age group are factors in numerical growth, they are not the only cause of church growth.

As late as 1950, children five years of age and younger numbered more than any other five-year demographic age group in the United States. But due to declining birthrates and increasing age spans, that is no longer the case. Now people age 35 to 39 (those born at the end of the baby boom between 1960 and 1964) outnumber those in every other age group.

Declining birthrates and smaller households do contribute to declining membership. Fewer children in the population means congregations must think differently about their ministry and growth strategies.

Parents have always selected the congregation that the family will attend—not young children. Young parents, as the decision-makers, are the greatest source of future members. When they look for a congregation, they will look for one that ministers effectively with small children. Quality programs for youth are also part of this growth picture—but congregations must consider the needs of all ages.

What is the demographic age profile of your current members? What percentage are:

• 12 years of age or younger?
• Between 13 and 18 years old?
• 19 to 24 years old?
• 25 to 44 years old?
• 45 to 64 years old?
• 65 years of age or older?

Do you know the needs and values of each age group in the congregation? Does each age group receive equal investment? For example, how much of the leader's time and interest, programming time and dollars, and facility are "consumed" by each group? Do these investments reflect the priorities of current participants or the age groups the congregation would like to reach?

Ten Reasons Why We give

By Cynthia Woolever

About half of American worshipers regularly give 5% or more of their net income to their congregation. However, this statistic obsures important differences by denomination and faith group. Two out of three worshipers in conservative Protestant churches give at this level. Only half (52%) of mainline Protestant worshipers give at the 5%-or-more level. Worshipers in Catholic parishes are the least likely to regularly give 5% or more (only 36% do). An astounding 44% of conservative Protestant worshipers give 10% or more to their local church.

The top five major influences on worshiper giving. Worshipers rated the extent to which 10 factors influence their decision to give to their congregation. The most important is gratitude. About half said they give to the congregation because they feel a sense of gratitude for God's love and goodness (49% said this is a "major influence" on giving decisions). Their financial gifts reflect a reactive response—one that arises from their gratitude. More than on in three worshipers say they give to support God's work in the world. This second reason relfects a more proactive response—a desire to make a difference. The third most important influence—giving out of a sense of duty—motivates giving to the congregation for about one in three worshipers. The fourth most important influence rests on the church's teaching that the Bible instructs believers to support their congregation—described as a "major influence" by one in four worshipers. Finally, the last major influence in the top five is a sense of obligation to support the work of their local congregation.

Five Factors with the Most Influence on Worshipers' Giving

A “major influence” on giving decisions:	Worshipers in Random Sample	Worshipers in Presbyterian Churches
A sense of gratitude for God’s love and goodness	49%	49%
Wanting to contribute to God’s work	38%	36%
A sense of religious duty to give	36%	33%
The Bible’s teaching on giving	28%	21%
A sense of obligation to support the work here	27%	26%

Worshipers in a random sample of Presbyterian congregations cite the same five factors as most influencing their decisions to give to their church. However, Presbyterian worshipers are slightly less likely to point to the Bible's teaching on giving than worshipers in the national random sample of congregations. Hearing about specific needs (23%) is important to Presbyterian worshipers and would be included in their top five factors.

Other major influences on worshiper giving. The remaining five factors rated by worshipers are less important in their motivations for giving. While worshipers—in all congregations and in Presbyterian churches say "hearing about specific needs" influences their financial decision-making (23% in both samples), worshipers in general say two other factors are more important than this one—the Bible's teaching and a sense of obligation to support the local work.

The seventh most influencial factor is a sense of gratitude for the help that the worshiper and his or her family receives from their involvement—about one in five worshipers said this was a major influence.

Very few worshipers rated the last two factors as major influences on congregational giving—the congregation's or leader's urging to give and possible tax benefits.

Less Important Factors Influencing Worshipers' Giving

A “major influence” on giving decisions:	Worshipers in Random Sample	Worshipers in Presbyterian Churches
Hearing about specific needs	23%	23%
A sense of gratitude for help my family or I have received here	21%	18%
Habit or custom	12%	10%
The congregation’s or the leader’s urging to give	6%	4%
The tax benefits I receive for my contributions	2%	2%

How can leaders help worshipers with their financial giving?

First, worshipers want to know how their contributions make a difference. Congregational leaders should highlight the specifc ways that worshipers' financial gifts are changing lives in the congregation and the community. The emphasis should be on ministry rather than on supporting programs.

Second, leaders can help worshipers become percentage givers. Currently, only about 14% of worshipers said they decide how much to give based on a percentage of their income. In a national study of giving, researchers found that worshipers in "percentage-giving churches" contribute three times more dollars than worshipers in congregations that ask for offerings in dollar amounts.[i] In percentage-giving churches worshipers are asked, "What percentage of your income do you feel God is calling you to give?" This question is consistent with the Bible's instructions about giving.

Create an easy way for worshipers to calculate how the dollar amoun they currently give translates into a percentage of their income. Then, encourage them to increase their giving by 1% or more in the coming year.

Third, only a very small percentage of worshipers report that the urging of the congregation or leader is a major influence on their financial decision-making. Is this because it rarely happens? Congregational leaders can emphasize that financial giving is a spiritual matter—an opportunity to express gratitude to God and contribute to God's work.

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[i] Dean Hoge, Charles Zech, Patrick McNamara, and Michael J. Donahue, Money Matters (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996)

A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations: Who's Going Where and Why, Second Edition

By Deborah Bruce

If your congregation participated in the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, or if you're interested in congregatonal life, you might own the first edition of A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations: Who's Going Where and Why (2002). Now an updated and expanded edition is available!

The second edition features results of Wave 2 of the U.S. Congregational Life Survey when almost 1,600 congregations and 163,000 worshipers took part. This latest volume has been revised to reflect Wave 2 findings and includes up-to-date statistics, tables with the latest information about worshipers and congregations, and original cartoons (!!) (It's OK to admit that the cartoons are your favorite part of our books. We love them, too!) The second edition also features two new chapters: one on pastoral leadership and another that describes the significant changes in congregational life between Wave 1 in 2001 and Wave 2 in 2008 and 2009.

Here's a sample from the new book:

Most clergy are satisfied with their work in ministry. Despite stress, long hours, sometimes  limited  compensation, and the potential for isolation in ministry, most pastors (92%) are satisfied int heir work. Seven in ten (73%) say they have not doubted their call to the ministry in the past year.

The new edition can be ordered from Amazon or from Cokesbury.

Happy reading!