Beyond the Ordinary

Back to Church Sunday

By Deborah Bruce

Millions of Americans attended church at one time, but don't any more. How can your congregation connect with people outside your doors who might be interested in returning to a community of faith?

First let's take a look at how people find a new congregation. The U.S. Congregational Life Survey asked worshipers who began attending their congregation in the past five years how they first found out about the church before they visited. The biggest draw? A personal invitation! Almost half of visitors came for the first time because someone invited them.

So how can your congregation be effective in inviting others? National Back to Church Sunday provides a unique way for your congregation to join with thousands of other churches across the country to invite visitors to church on September 10, 2010. The Back to Church website provides numerous resources and tools to help you get started. Already, more than one million invitations have been issued!

How many visitors will your congregation have that day?

National Back to Church Sunday is sponsored by Outreach, Inc. and LifeWay Research.

Other resources:

• Myths and Facts About Evangelism and Church Growth
• How to Attract First-Time Worship Visitors

Walking sticks

By Hilary Harris

My congregation has not taken the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, but if it had, I believe our strengths would be centered on Caring for Young People and Participating in the Congregation.

My congregation has a huge youth program, ranging from nursery age children all the way to high school and beyond. The nursery school including toddlers and twos has a program that includes activities and play during church and adult classes on Sunday mornings. Included in the Christian Education program for children three and older are two church services, divided by age group, which occur in two separate chapels during worship in the main sanctuary. These services are both lay and clergy-led. During their worship time, the children learn about the significance of the bread and wine and learn how to take Communion. The children then join their parents in the congregation for Communion each Sunday morning. After worship, the congregation then splits up and goes to the many Christian Education offerings offered each Sunday morning. Similar to the children's worship services, Sunday school programs are divided by grade level so that the material they are taught is age appropriate. The programs for children ages three through six focus more on the Bible stories using a curriculum. The programs for children in grades first through fifth are centered on the lectionary used in the congregation's service.

Many of the middle school and high school students participate in worship as acolytes and reading the lessons or prayers. The middle school and high school Sunday school group meets during adult education and spends some of their time each month teaching the classes of the younger children. Much of the activities of the middle school and high school programs are focused on outreach to the congregation and the community. They also meet on Sunday evenings for a social gathering.

The most visible and favorite parish activity for youth is on graduation Sunday. Each May the congregation recognizes the high school graduates with a presentation of a walking stick that has been handmade and engraved with the shield of the church and the graduate's name. It is presented to them as a send-off to know that they will always be prayed for and welcomed home.

The involvement of church members in the daily activities of the congregation gives ownership of the programs to the members and also a connection to the church that is different than just being a member. The contribution of time and talent are important, and sometimes overlooked, aspects of how church members can contribute to the life of the congregation.

Besides the youth programs mentioned here, there are various outreach activities of the congregation that allow members to be a part of their congregation while helping their community. These programs range from an environmentally conscious group, refugee ministries, food pantry and garden, serving meals at a local soup kitchen, to work with the local Habitat for Humanity group. The numerous outreach activities for the members of the congregation encourage involvement within the church and the surrounding community.

What strengths does your congregation have?

Congregations and their members who are divorced

By Cynthia Woolever

News of Al and Tipper Gore's plans to divorce made many who thought a 40-year marriage was indestructible—well, think again. What supports a life-long and happy marriage? Religious institutions certainly try to support the marital institution. Does that support mean worshipers are less likely to be divorced?

The U.S. Congregational Life Survey findings on the percentages of divorced people sitting in the pew are remarkably consistent. Compared to the U.S. population where 10% are divorced and have not remarried, only 7% of worshipers are divorced and not remarried—the same percent in 2001. There are no differences in this percentage by the size of the congregation. Large congregations have the same percentage of divorced people as the smallest congregations do. There is a slight difference in the percentage of divorced worshipers across religious traditions. About 7% of Catholic and mainline Protestant worshipers are divorced. Worshipers in conservative Protestant churches are slightly more likely to be divorced (9%).

A recent study of divorce among individuals from six religious traditions (black Baptist, Jewish communities, white evangelical, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, and Catholic) revealed remarkable consistency in their experiences. All individuals studied were actively involved in a congregation during that process. (See "In Concert and Alone: Divorce and Congregational Experience," by Kathleen E. Jenkins, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (2010) 49 (2): 278-292). Available here—abstract for free; full article for a fee.)

Some of the key findings:

• All divorcing individuals experienced feelings of shame, congregational silence (unwritten rules prohibiting discussion related to break-ups of married couples in the church), and a sense of aloneness while worshiping beside others.
• They gave several reasons for these feelings—including sermons that framed the divorce as deviant and the potential for negative judgment and gossip from other worshipers.
• They believed one of the reasons behind congregational silence was the fear that discussion of divorce may make other congregants take sides.
• The divorce practices of religious traditions reinforced the private and highly emotional nature of divorce and, in some ways, marginalized those who were ending relationships.

How did congregations help individuals who were divorcing or ending relationships?

• Grief and divorce support groups
• Pastoral counseling
• Separation ceremonies (such as "get" in Jewish communities or annulment in Catholic communities)
• Weekly worship services (individuals attending these services found them comforting and helpful)
• Religious music (individuals found healing through listening to music)

Research shows that religion in general and congregations in particular support people's health and wellness as they face loss (such as death or divorce). This new research suggests that congregations can do more to support divorcing individuals within the faith community.

How does your congregation support worshipers when they face divorce? Could it do more?

Inviting

By Deborah Bruce

Congregational focus on inviting.  Two-thirds of worshipers say they've heard a sermon in the past year on why they should invite others to their congregation. These types of messages are more common in conservative Protestant (86%) and mainline Protestant (73%) churches than in Catholic parishes (54%).

Further, more conservative Protestant worshipers (91%) than mainline (69%) or Catholic (58%) worshipers say that inviting others and sharing faith is one of the most important priorities of their congregation.

Personal invitations.  About half of worshipers say they've invited someone to worship or to another congregational activity in the previous month. Actual inviting follows the congregation's focus, with conservative Protestants mostly likely to have invited someone. Seven in ten worshipers in conservative Protestant churches (70%) asked someone to attend their congregation. About half of worshipers in mainline Protestant churches (55%) and four in ten Catholics (39%) did so.

Let's look more closely at these invitations.

How many?  Among those who invited others to their congregation, the median number of such invitations in the previous year is three. There is only a small difference across denominational families—conservative Protestants invited a median of four people; mainline Protestants, three people; Catholics, two.

Who?  Typically worshipers invited a friend to their church (reported by 64% of those who invited someone). Almost half said they asked a family member to visit (46%), and two in ten invited a neighbor (20%) or a co-worker (19%).

Invited to what?  The first invitation is usually to worship. Nine in ten say they invited someone to a worship service (86%). Two in ten issued an invitation to a social activity (for example, a potluck supper; 19%). No other church activity was named by more than 20% of worshipers. Very few visitors are first asked to participate in church school, Bible study, prayer groups, men's or women's groups, or community service projects.

Impact?  Very few of the people who were invited continue to attend the congregation. Six in ten worshipers who asked someone to visit their congregation (64%) say none of the visitors they invited still attend. That percentage doesn't vary much by denominational family—conservative Protestants are no better than mainline Protestants and Catholics in keeping visitors attending their congregation.

Could that be because only four in ten worshipers (39%) say their congregation continually asks "What does it feel like to be a visitor here?" Does your congregation keep that consideration front and center?

Read more: Myths and Facts About Evangelism and Church Growth and What Growing Churches Do.