A new survey conducted by the research division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention looks at reasons why adults leave evangelical Christian churches.
This past summer LifeWay Research polled 469 adults who once attended church regularly in an effort to find out why they stopped going -- and also to discover what it would take to bring them back. According to the study, 59 percent of formerly churched adults say they left because of changes in their life situation. The top two specific life situations cited were schedules that became too hectic to allow for church attendance, and family responsibilities at home that prevented church attendance.
Brad Waggoner, president of LifeWay Research, says the recent survey shows how radically American culture has changed. "It used to be that Sunday was protected as a day of worship," he notes. "It's not good news that people are finding lots of competition with the church."
On the other hand, Waggoner observes, "I guess there's a little bit of good news that at least people are being honest that it's their lives that are out of whack." However, he points out, other reasons people gave for leaving church included feeling that other church members were hypocritical or judgmental, or the perception that their former church was run by a clique that discouraged involvement.
The director of LifeWay Research believes the exodus of many adults from church may be the result of certain church practices, or that certain practices may at least contribute to the problem.
"In some cases," he asserts, "we've done a poor job of grounding people in their faith and making sure that their own understanding of scripture and their own commitment to the local church is where it needs to be."
Waggoner feels many church members are vulnerable to attrition because of either a nonexistent or immature faith. "When individuals begin to seek out membership," he says, "they should be guided through a process whereby they are clearly taught the gospel and then following salvation, grounded in strong biblical truth."
Nevertheless, the LifeWay Research official does not discount the criticisms raised by some of the respondents in the survey. "On the other side there's this concern about [the fact that] some of our churches are unhealthy, and in some cases the environment is not what it should be," he admits.
Building affinity and fostering commitment in those who attend a church requires real investment on the part of that church, Waggoner suggests. That kind of affinity is something that "will never happen at a significant level without the church fostering a culture of concern, fellowship and involvement," he says.
According to LifeWay Research, the average formerly churched adult has not attended regularly for 14 years. However, last summer's survey found that more than two-thirds of these former churchgoers are open to the idea of attending services regularly again.
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