The report of the results, "Let the People Speak," noted that 91 percent of the responses expressed the same opinions.

"What was causing this erosion of values? Why were people turning away from the church? And more to the point, what can be done about it?" were the questions that the ERC's survey was attempting to answer, Betchworth said.

So, when the people spoke, what did they say? What were they looking for? The following are some of the answers found in the report:

Believing and Caring Shepherds.

The failure of many ministers to defend the faith and responsibly carry out what parishioners expected of the clergy was a theme throughout the survey results.

For example, many respondents complained that their ministers hardly seemed to believe in Christianity themselves. Said one churchgoer: "Often clergy do little to try and convince us that God exists, let alone outline the logical reasons behind our belief in the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection."

Ministers also came in for serious criticism when it came to conducting worship services. The report said many churchgoers complained about "shoddy services" and "ministers going through the motions," even to the point of virtually speed-reading through the sermon or preaching it in a voice that was "inaudible" or without any "real conviction or sincerity."

One middle-aged couple said, "We used to go to church expecting very little and came away with nothing. This has now changed to expecting nothing and coming away with even less .... [W]hat we want are services taken with a conviction and a passion for Christ."

Many people said they wanted clergy "to give greater priority to home visiting and pastoral care, in order to reflect God's love and concern for the individual."

That was something that most people couldn't get anywhere else. As one woman said, "It is a very uncaring world now, and the church should not be emulating this but rather standing out against it and being seen as a caring community."

However, due to organizational priorities in their denominations, parishioners said ministers were given so many administrative duties that they had no time to tend to the needs of the people beyond conducting services.

Solid Teaching.

The report noted that there is "a spiritual hunger among congregations for a greater understanding of a wide range of relevant topics," and Christians think that hunger should be fed, at least to a large extent, during the sermon.

But they aren't getting that substance. Time and again, respondents complained that they were getting only "platitudes," "political and social sermons" or "matters of little spiritual significance."

A churchgoer declared, "I need help to grow in my faith and help to become the person Christ wants me to be."

"Tinkering around with service times or liturgy won't work if the message isn't there," said one churchgoer. "The heart of the matter is that congregations want to hear what the Bible says in a relevant way, with conviction and passion."