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EXODUSOF THERELIGIOUSDONESResearch reveals the size, make-up, and motivations of the formerly churched populationJosh Packard, Ph.D.Director, Social Research LabAssistant Professor of Sociology University of Northern Colorado
Research commissioned by Group Publishing, Inc. | Loveland, Colorado | group.comCopyright © 2015 Group Publishing, Inc.
E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
EXODUS OF THE RELIGIOUS DONES: Research Reveals the Size, Make-Up, and Motivations of the Formerly Churched Population
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Prepared by Josh Packard, Ph.D.
Much has been written about people who leave church. Unfortunately, most of it has been written without any empirical evidence. This report draws on the best data available from national survey agencies, academics, and a newly commissioned survey1 to provide an in-depth look at the Dones—people who walk away from church but keep their faith.
The new survey is the first ever to quantify the number of Dones in the United States. It digs into the reasons they left and how they have been living out their faith since leaving the institutional church. It also takes a look at the millions of people who are currently attending church but are on their way out the door.
In order to provide context for these numbers, qualitative data is included from Dr. Josh Packard, a sociologist and lead author of Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal Why People Are DONE With Church but Not Their Faith (Group, 2015). The result is the most complete picture of the Dones that has ever been offered.
Throughout the report you’ll find in-depth profiles and explanation to go along with the numbers. The conclusion will show how the Dones want to be re-engaged by the institutional church—and how they do NOT want to be approached.
[1] “The Spiritual Lives of Religious Dones” was a nationally representative panel study conducted by the Social Research Lab at the
University of Northern Colorado in April 2015. Quota sampling was used during a three stage data collection process to ensure validity
and representation. The survey has a margin of error of =/- 1.7% with a 95% confidence interval.
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Contents
Overview ................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ................................................................................................5
Methodology .............................................................................................7
SECTION 1: The U.S. Religious Landscape: Some Key Trends ......................... 8
Affiliation ............................................................................................. 8
Belief and Practice ...............................................................................11
Institutional Disengagement ...................................................................12
SECTION 2: DONE With Church…but Not the Faith ....................................15
Who Are the Dones? ............................................................................15
Beliefs ............................................................................................... 23
Why Did They Leave? ..........................................................................27
What Are They Doing? ........................................................................ 30
Are They Coming Back? ...................................................................... 33
SECTION 3: On Their Way Out—The Almost Dones .....................................35
SECTION 4: What Can Be Done? ..............................................................41
Resources ...........................................................................................45
Appendix ............................................................................................47
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OverviewIn this report are detailed findings to support and explain several major conclusions. Here are some of the most important findings from this study.
Religion remains vitally important to Americans (pages 8-14). § While the numbers of people claiming no religious affiliation are rising, the
other numbers about the importance of religion in people’s lives are stable. § The trend of people disengaging from organized religion is part of the larger
trend away from all major social institutions in the United States.
Massive numbers of people were once in the church but are now out (pages 15-16). § Thirty-one percent of American adults are former churchgoers who have opted
out of organized religion altogether. § Half of those who once went to church—roughly 30.5 million Americans—still
identify as Christians. These are the Dones—people who have decided to opt out of church while retaining their faith in God and Christian identity.
The Dones were at one time active churchgoers (pages 16-18). § Over half (55 percent) of the Dones did more than simply attend services, and
nearly 40 percent of the Dones were active in their congregations as volunteers and leaders.
The Dones cut across age groups (pages 15-17). § Whereas the phenomenon of the Nones (those who have no religious affiliation)
is largely a generational issue, the Dones come from across the age spectrum. There are as many Dones ages 18-34 as there are Dones over age 55.
More Dones are coming (pages 35-40). § On any given Sunday there are 7 million people sitting in the pews who report that
they are on their way out the door, never to return. These are the Almost Dones. § The Almost Dones are predicted to spread out into theologically conservative
and evangelical ranks—over half of all Almost Dones express a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible.
Some things matter more (pages 27-29; 35-37). § Dones and Almost Dones share a similar profile: Lecture-style preaching, stifling
organizational structures, and a lack of opportunities for participation are major factors driving people out of the church.
§ For many, the church is no longer a place where they encounter God. § The Almost Dones have an even greater distaste than do the Dones for the church
taking strong political and social stances.
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Dones are a bridge to the Nones (pages 21-27). § The Dones remain active in living out their faith after they leave the church, and they
are not necessarily doing this only with other Christians. § There is a strong desire for community and a willingness to re-engage with the
church if it can provide true community.
Most are not coming back (pages 33-34). § Fewer than 10 percent of Dones say they are likely to become involved in organized
religion again.
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IntroductionThe religious landscape in the United States has undergone some seismic shifts in
recent years. In particular, Pew and other research organizations have documented the dramatic rise of those with no religious affiliation: the Nones. They have shown the Nones to be at their highest levels since researchers began measuring religious affiliation. Commentators in the media and in the pulpit have rushed to make sense of these changes, but most have been doing so with very little data or context apart from what they encounter in Pew’s 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study.
This report sets out to understand the issue from a broader, more informed position. In particular, it examines why people are suddenly disengaging with the institutional church in America, how the trend fits into the rest of our society, and what it means for our churches and our social fabric moving forward.
The findings presented here are primarily based on two sources: (1) first-hand qualitative interviews for Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal Why People Are DONE With Church but Not Their Faith (Group, 2015); and (2) the results of a first-of-its-kind national survey of people who have left church but retained their faith.
The data from the national survey reveal that 31 percent of American adults were once regular church attenders who have opted out of organized religion altogether. Roughly half of these people, or 30.5 million U.S. adults, still express a Christian identity.
“I retained my Christian affiliation, but not my affiliation with Christians.” —Mia (quoted in Church Refugees)
These numbers are massive, but they don’t tell the whole story. Digging deeper into the reality behind these numbers reveals even more surprising findings. Three things in particular run counter to the narrative of church decline that has so dominated this conversation.
First, fixating on the single number of religious affiliation has led to some erroneous conclusions. The trend of people opting out of religious organizations is not an indication of deep changes in religiosity, but rather of people’s unwillingness to engage with all types of social institutions. People who are opting out of organized religion are part of a larger movement away from social institutions more generally. In order to stem the tide of people walking away, churches must change to feel more like communities and less like organizations.
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Second, this investigation revealed an entirely new group of people who retain their religious beliefs but have intentionally turned away from organized religion. These people are not the Nones that we hear so much about—these are the Dones. They are done with church but not with God. This group is large, dynamic, and powerful, comprising roughly 30.5 million American adults. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, this report provides a general profile of the Dones and explores their motivations for leaving church while also exploring how they are living out their faith outside of the institution.
Third, this report reveals how many people are in the pews on any given Sunday morning but feel like they have one foot out the door already. The Dones are a sizable group, and if something about institutional church doesn’t change dramatically, more people will soon be joining them.
This new understanding of religious disaffiliation as a part of larger social dynamics gives us greater insight into how our religious institutions will likely change. As people express great skepticism of large social institutions, those institutions—including the church—must respond by becoming smaller, more dynamic, and more responsive. Above all, they must listen and adapt if they are to retain their positions of prominence and importance in our society.
There are four main sections to this report. First, the national religious landscape is examined over time in order to get some context as to exactly what aspects of religion in this country are changing. The next section will help understand the Dones, followed by a look at the Almost Dones—those who are currently in church but are on their way out. The last section digs into the empirical data once more to see what impact these trends might have on church practice moving forward. The result is a clear picture of a sizable and important trend developing in the church in America, plus some fresh ideas of what the church in America can do to re-engage people who have walked out of the building.
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MethodologyTwo distinct kinds of data were used to compile this report. Qualitative data consists
of interviews and structured observations. It is the data that make up Church Refugees, the first book about the Dones, based on over 100 in-depth interviews. Far from being simply stories or conversations, in-depth sociological interviews are geared toward testing hypotheses about motivations, processes, and understandings. They reveal things that a simple survey question never could.
For example, the decision to leave organized religion after many years of involvement is an incredibly complex process that affects nearly all parts of a person’s life. There is no way that a multiple choice survey question could possibly capture all of these dynamics. Structured interviews allow for much more depth than surveys do.
Qualitative research often comes first so that a researcher can truly understand all of the various aspects of an issue before trying to design survey questions. Without the qualitative data, no one would even know what survey questions to ask. Of course, qualitative studies often suffer for lack of breadth or representation. Although the data collected for Church Refugees relies on sound qualitative sampling techniques, it cannot be said to be truly representative of the entire nation. In order to have that kind of certainty, a national survey is required.
Surveys gather quantitative data, and the first national survey of Dones was conducted in April of 2015. These data give a solid understanding of how many people are Done and which factors were most important in their decision-making.
The best social science research brings together both of these sources—the qualitative data, which tells how and why something happens, and the quantitative data, which describes what is happening.
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SECTION 1: The U.S. Religious Landscape: Some Key Trends
Much has been made lately about the changing religious landscape in the United States. Pointing to the studies by Pew that show a dramatic increase in people claiming no religious affiliation, pundits have been scrambling to spin the numbers in their favor. But no single number ever tells the whole story.
The paragraphs, charts, and tables included here situate the Pew study in the overall religious context of the past decades in the United States. This analytic approach clearly shows that while affiliation has changed, not much else has. This helps to frame the issue more accurately as a problem with institutions, not just a problem with religion.
AffiliationThe first thing to understand is how affiliation numbers have changed over time.
Gallup, which has been asking questions about religious preference since 1948, reports that the total percentage of the U.S. population that identifies as Christian has declined dramatically since 1948. Whereas 9 in 10 adults in the U.S. once identified as Christian, that ratio is now 7 in 10.
More specifically, Gallup also shows a corresponding decline in U.S. adults who identify as Protestant Christians (see Graphic 1).
1972
1982
1993
2004
2014
70%
60%
50%
(Source: Pew Research Center)
[Graphic 1]
Size of the Protestant Population: Long-Term Trends
Percentage of U.S. adults identifying as Protestant
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Additionally, most researchers have concluded that the declines in Catholicism would be equally as large if not for massive immigration from countries with traditionally high numbers of Catholics.
Much of this decline can be accounted for by the rise in Nones from 2 percent of the population in 1948 to 16 percent of the population in 2014. While Gallup and other polls find lower rates of people indicating “no affiliation” as their religious preference than does the Pew research, all polls show a sharp increase in Nones in recent decades (see Graphic 2).
1972
1982
1993
2004
2014
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Pew Research
Gallup Poll
(Source: Pew Research Center)
[Graphic 2]
Size of the Unaffiliated Population: Long-Term TrendsPercentage of U.S. adults identifying with no religion
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2007 2014 Change % % %Christian 78.4 70.6 -7.8 Protestant 51.3 46.5 -4.8
Evangelical 26.3 25.4 -0.9 Mainline 18.1 14.7 -3.4 Historically black 6.9 6.5 —
Catholic 23.9 20.8 -3.1 Orthodox Christian 0.6 0.5 —Mormon 1.7 1.6 —Jehovah's Witness 0.7 0.8 — Other Christian 0.3 0.4 —
Non-Christian faiths 4.7 5.9 +1.2 Jewish 1.7 1.9 —Muslim 0.4 0.9 +0.5 Buddhist 0.7 0.7 —Hindu 0.4 0.7 +0.3 Other world religions <0.3 0.3 —Other faiths 1.2 1.5 +0.3
Unaffiliated 16.1 22.8 +6.7 Atheist 1.6 3.1 +1.5 Agnostic 2.4 4.0 +1.6 Nothing in particular 12.1 15.8 +3.7
Don't know/refused 0.8 0.6 -0.2 100.0 100.0
(Source: Pew Research Center)
[Graphic 3]
Christians Decline as Share of U.S. Population; Other Faiths and the Unaffiliated Are Growing
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Other causes of the decline in Christian affiliation could be a more diverse population. More faiths are represented in larger numbers in the United States than ever before. However, religious belief in the United States is still largely Christian belief. Non-Christian faiths only account for approximately 6 percent of religious affiliation in the U.S. (see Graphic 3).
This change in affiliation has rightly gained much attention, yet it gives us only a partial picture of what is really going on in the faith lives of Americans. Other indicators of belief show that religion is remarkably stable over the same time period.
Belief and PracticeWhen Americans are asked the most straightforward question, “Do you believe in
God?” the decline over the years is much less pronounced. Gallup first asked this question in 1944 when over 95 percent of respondents of all faiths indicated they believed in God. By the time Gallup asked the question in 2014, that number had dropped to 86 percent. This is a decline, to be sure, but not nearly so precipitous a change as the decline in Christian affiliation.
Furthermore, individual congregations and houses of worship would have hardly felt the decline during this period of time; between 1940 and 2010 the number of people in the country increased by 175 million.
Survey questions about belief in God, however, are not limited to a Christian understanding of God. When surveys ask specifically about heaven, the numbers are much more stable. Again turning to Gallup because it has the earliest data on this question, in 1968, 85 percent of Americans believed in heaven, and in 2011, 85 percent of Americans believed in heaven.1
Prayer, meanwhile, has actually gone up a small tick since 1983. The General Social Survey reports that in 1983, 53.8 percent of Americans prayed once a day or more, compared to 56.7 percent of Americans in 2010 who reported praying daily or more often.2
Most importantly, perhaps, Americans continue to say that religion is “very important” to them (see Graphic 4). While religious affiliation was shifting to include a higher percentage of people answering “none,” there was remarkable stability in terms of importance.
[1] Gallup Survey collection on Gallup.com. See http://www.gallup.com/poll/1690/religion.aspx
[2] Association of Religion Data Archives. See http://www.thearda.com/quickstats/qs_104_t.asp
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70%
60%
50%
40%1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
(Source: Gallup)
[GRAPHIC 4]
How important is religion in your life?n Very important
Religious belief and practice, specifically within a Christian context, continues to be extraordinarily important for Americans. People in this country take their faith lives very seriously and are not inclined to abandon long-held beliefs.
So how does one make sense of all of this data? Is the church in America declining or remaining stable? More importantly, what explains the decline in affiliation while people’s beliefs are remaining somewhat stable? The answer requires a look at broader social trends.
A look at institutional disengagement across all social institutions points out that people are about as religious as they’ve ever been, but they’re fleeing institutions at a record pace.
Institutional DisengagementIncreasingly, people in the United States are disengaging from traditional social
institutions. This trend was chronicled across the social spectrum by Robert D. Putnam in his seminal work Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. One key number reveals much. Only 45 percent of Americans express “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the institution of church or organized religion. This percentage has declined steadily since the question was first asked by Gallup in 1973, when 65 percent of respondents indicated confidence in the institution.1
Similarly, confidence levels are at or near all-time lows for big business, the Supreme Court, banks, public schools, Congress, television news, and newspapers. To sum it up, Americans are simply losing trust and confidence in some of the most durable social institutions (see Graphic 5).
[1] Gallup Survey collection on Gallup.com. See http://www.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx
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(Source: Survey on the Global Agenda 2014 World Economic Forum)
[Graphic 5]
Which sector is most trusted for its leadership?
Nonprofit Organizations
Business
Education
International Organizations
Healthcare
News Media
Government
Religious Organizations
0.00 5.00 10.00
5.53
4.72
4.7
4.62
4.53
3.94
3.83
3.57
No confidence at all Complete confidence
This suggests that the disengagement from organized religion is not something that the church can fix while retaining its current structure. There is something much bigger going on in society that is compelling people to leave behind old structures in general, not just religion.
These structures need to adapt to this new reality rather than trying to convince people to change their minds. Just as other industries have adopted new models to meet challenges, so too must the institutional church in America.
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An excerpt from the recent book Church Refugees, which profiles the Dones, illustrates how the larger trend of institutional distrust and disengagement affects the church specifically. These numbers have ramifications for ministers and other church workers that most people are not fully grappling with just yet. A new approach to ministry is required to address forces in our society that are beyond the control of the church.
One of the people interviewed for the Church Refugees project is a pastor whose congregation includes a number of formerly dechurched people—Dones, in other words. Bill is in his mid-30s and has been with his church since it started as a small group nearly a decade ago. He has no formal training or education as a pastor but has evolved into the role. Still, he rarely presents himself as a pastor, introducing himself instead with one of his other vocations. This is intentional, he says, because he found early on that identifying himself as a pastor actually worked against him in trying to gain trust and form relationships, especially with the dechurched people his church is attracting.
It is 100 percent the case that my role as a pastor means that people are inclined to distrust me and my intentions. They’re inclined from the beginning to think that I’m only interested in their money or telling them what to do. Their first thoughts are not as mine were when I was a child: “That man is a pastor. He must be a really good person who loves me.” That implicit trust has been completely turned upside down. As a pastor and staff, we approach every day with the understanding that we need to focus on earning that trust back. It can never be assumed. (Bill, 35)
According to Bill, the loss of trust in religious institutions means that trust must be earned daily. And the work of re-establishing trust must be done long before the church does any of the work of telling people how to live.
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SECTION 2: DONE With Church… but Not the Faith
The data presented earlier is evidence of a larger social trend of institutional disengagement that affects the church while personal religious belief remains relatively stable. People are disengaging from organized religion, but many are not leaving their faith behind. In fact, they might even be more committed than ever.
As noted previously, these people who intentionally opt out of organized religion are called the Dones. They’re done with the church but not with God. What turns them off is the institutional expression of religion.
The Dones have always existed. As long as people have been coming in the front door, others have been walking out the back door. What is different now is that the back door seems to be wider than ever. People are fleeing organized religion—but not because of traditional issues surrounding a loss of faith or a too-narrow spirituality. They are fleeing because the organization itself is stifling their ability to live out their faith. All too often, people report leaving because they feel like they have a better chance of connecting with God outside of the church than inside the church.
Some of them continue to identify themselves on surveys as Christians. Others say they don’t have any interest in affiliating with an institution so they select “none” despite retaining their Christian beliefs. This next section will explore the Dones—their motivations for leaving the church and their beliefs and activities outside of the walls of institutional religion.
Who Are the Dones?The Dones are those who made an intentional decision to leave organized religion
but retained their faith. Of the 210 million adults in the U.S., about 15 percent are Dones—roughly 30.5 million people who have left the church but kept their faith (see Graphic 6).
These numbers do not reflect gender or generational issues. Males and females are nearly equally represented. Likewise, there are approximately as many young Dones (ages 18-34) as there are Dones age 55 and older (see Graphic 7 and Graphic 8).
The reason for this generational balance is because it takes some time to accumulate the necessary experiences and frustrations before people opt out of church. As Church Refugees points out, most Dones leave only after a prolonged period of struggle. Virtually none of them walked away from the church after just one negative experience.
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This is partially because the Dones are so devoted. Over half (55 percent) of the Dones did more than simply attend services, and nearly 40 percent of the Dones were active in their congregations as volunteers and leaders (see Graphic 9). In other words, the Dones were very devoted to the church before leaving. This suggests that when the Dones walk out the door, the church is losing some of its most committed members.
(Source: Social Research Lab at University of Northern Colorado - hereafter SRL)
[Graphic 6]
Dechurched U.S. adults
210
100
65
0
Number of U.S. adults(millions)
Left Church
Left Church kept faith(30.5 Mil)
Left Church no faith affiliation(34.5 Mil)
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51.6% 48.4%
n Femalen Male
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 7]
Dones by Gender
n 18-25 yearsn 26-34 yearsn 35-54 yearsn 55-64 yearsn 65+ years
19.6%
43.3%
20.8%
7.8%8.3%
[Graphic 8]
Dones by Age
(Source: SRL)
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n I attended services but nothing more.
n I attended services and some events or a small group.
n I volunteered my time to serve in the church’s ministries.
n I was heavily involved as a leader in the congregation.
n I was on paid staff.
33.7%
17.8%
44.3%
1.1%3.2%
[Graphic 9]
How involved in church
(Source: SRL)
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As a group, the Dones are uniquely positioned in our society. The annual income of Dones falls between $50,000-$60,0001, and the average Done has at least some college and often much more (see Graphic 10). Thirty-nine percent of Dones have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared with just 15 percent of the affiliated Christian population.2 Racially, 74 percent of Dones are white, 9 percent are black/African-American and 11 percent are Hispanic (see Graphic 11).
n Master’s Degree or Highern Bachelor’s Degreen Associate’s Degreen Some College n High School Graduate n Some High School
27%
16%
29%
17%
1% 10%
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 10]
Dones’ Education Level
[1] The U.S. Census Bureau reported in September 2014 that the U.S. real (adjusted for inflation) median household income was $51,939.
[2] Church Refugees, p. 22
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n White (Non-Hispanic)
n Black n Native Americann Pacific Islandern White (Hispanic)
n Other
73.5%
11.6% 3.8%1.7%
0.8%
8.6%
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 11]
Dones and Racial Status
Taken together, these characteristics of race, income, and education suggest that the Dones are people who are used to having society and social institutions work for them. When those institutions do not work for them or stifle their efforts, they have access to the resources they need to operate outside of institutional structures. In other words, the Dones do not need what the institutional church is currently offering in order to do the work they feel called to do. They can—and are—creating their own structures, opportunities, and activities.
Furthermore, as is so often true in other social movements, it’s those with the means to opt out who leave institutions first. In the process, they create pathways and opportunities for others to follow. In the final section of this report, we will turn our attention to those who are still in the pews but on their way out—a group that is much more racially diverse, of somewhat lower income, and slightly less educated, indicating that the current trend of Dones is only the beginning.
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Ethan’s Story1
Perhaps the best way to get a sense of the general profile of a dechurched (Done) person is through Ethan’s story. Ethan is a 47-year-old salesperson with three children. He was initially reluctant, he said, to be interviewed because he still felt protective of the church and didn’t want to be seen as trashing it. “Church leaders have been through a lot lately,” he said. “Some of it’s deserved, brought upon by their own actions, but a lot of it isn’t. I think they’re tired of getting beat up.” He was eventually swayed by talking with his friend who had already done an interview and convinced him that it wasn’t intended to point out the church’s flaws.
His story is just one illustration of how embedded the dechurched often were in their congregations. He explained how, after a childhood of church involvement, he went to college and got involved in campus ministry before eventually making a career out of ministry and then abandoning the “flawed structure” of the church altogether:
So I did campus ministry for years. I learned how to preach, I learned youth ministry, learned biblical counseling, and when I got out I went back to my old church, and they hired me as their youth pastor. Then I did assistant pastoring for three and a half years there, and I ran a youth drop-in center that was sponsored by United Way, where we tutored kids and had organized basketball, volleyball, field trips, and that type of thing. I did youth group for the church, and I led worship, and I led weddings, burials, and that sort of thing. For years I did all of that. When I left after a scandal with the head pastor cheating on his wife, we attended another church a few towns over, and I was helping with the youth group there, and then they offered me a position. For the next six years, I was an associate pastor, and we did all the adult Christian education, children’s ministry, led worship, pretty much a little of everything. From there it was on to Florida following my wife’s job and on to another church which dissolved because the elders were stealing church money, and then out to Colorado, where we got involved again. We just can’t help getting involved when we have talents to offer and we see a need, I guess. Since 2010, though, when we finally left the church, we’ve just done house church where we create and do things with others rather than for them. I’m done with the top-down, institutional church. I thought we could fix it from within, but we got beat up pretty bad. I know we didn’t always handle things the best way, but at the
[1] Excerpt from Church Refugees, pp. 23-25
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same time, we kept showing up and volunteering because we felt the church was God’s home. I don’t think that’s the case anymore. The church is wherever God’s work is being done, and too often the way we were treated and the things I saw happen in the institutional church to other people just weren’t in alliance with what we thought God wanted. But here’s the thing: I don’t think the institutional church is filled with bad people. I think the church in America is an inherently flawed structure that compels people to make poor decisions. You’re basically judged on how well you can preach and the numbers you bring in. I realize the church isn’t perfect, and it’s made up of people who aren’t perfect, and I’m not perfect either, but the church needs to see that there are things that are broken about the structure, not the people.
This extended excerpt from Ethan’s interview is representative of nearly all the stories gathered in the course of writing Church Refugees. Although not every interviewee was involved in paid ministry, nearly all of them rose to a position of leadership during their years in the church. Often this happened in a way similar to Ethan’s experience. They would get heavily involved in a particular congregation, move for some reason or another and gradually, though not intentionally, begin taking on leadership roles at the new church. At some level, this speaks to the crushing organizational demands of running a congregation in today’s religious landscape. Talent is hard to come by, and resources are even scarcer. It’s only natural that a congregation would latch on to dedicated, experienced, and talented people.
However, Ethan’s story and the dozens like his reveal something about the kind of people who generally make up the dechurched. They display an extreme level of dedication and devotion to God and religion, and they earnestly believe that the institutional church can be fixed and reclaimed. They believe it’s worth fighting for, right up to the point where they don’t.
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BeliefsThe Dones are a remarkably diverse group in terms of their religious beliefs and
practices. Although it’s popular in some circles to think that the Dones are spiritually immature or not fully committed to their faith, the data tell a completely different story. For instance:
§ 72 percent have sought out and found outlets for spiritual growth since leaving the institutional church;
§ 82.6 percent say that religion is somewhat or very important in their life; § 53.6 percent of Dones say they pray daily or more often (see Graphics 12, 13,
and 14).
n Yesn No
71.8%
28.2%
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 12]
Dones and Spiritual GrowthSince leaving organized religion, have you been able to find other outlets for spiritual growth?
24
39.5%
43.1%
17.3%n Very importantn Somewhat importantn Not at all important
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 13]
Dones and Importance of ReligionHow important is religion in your life?
25
53.6%
20.6%
25.8%
n Dailyn Weekly/Monthlyn Seldom/Never
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 14]
Dones and Frequency of PrayerHow often do you pray?
Theologically, the Dones run the full spectrum. What is perhaps most interesting are the Dones’ views about the Bible (see Graphic 15). Dones are not inclined toward either fundamentalism or relativism. They are much more likely to take middle-of-the-road theological positions, and they are substantially more likely to express uncertainty or doubt. In other words, not only do they not need certainty from the pulpit, but they tend to look upon such stances with skepticism. They’re much more inclined to respond favorably to a pastor saying, “I’m not sure. Let’s look at that together,” than to a pastor saying, “This is the way it is. End of discussion.”
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(Source: *SRL; **General Social Survey, 2010)
DONES*
NATIONAL**
[Graphic 15]
Dones’ View of the Bible
This position is directly related to the reasons Dones leave the church. They desire conversation about God and theology rather than a list of predefined beliefs to be memorized and consumed. They desire and demand to be active participants in the construction of their own faith lives.
This theological understanding also impacts their religious practice. The desire for conversation and questioning requires community, and these conversations in community are the way the Dones experience and understand God.
The Dones are not looking for a bunch of nodding heads who simply affirm their own preconceived ideas. They don’t bristle at challenging positions or theological disagreement. Instead, they are turned off by being told what to do, think, and believe without having any part in the conversation.
The Bible is the literal word of God, and everything should be taken literally, word for word.
The Bible is the word of God, but should not be taken literally, word for word.
The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.
I’m not sure./ I don’t know.
45.5%
14%24% 49% 14%
31.2% 20.3% 0.9%45.5%
14%24% 49% 14%
31.2% 20.3% 0.9%
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“I want to be in a place that welcomes disagreement. Not to disagree to be rude or nasty, but out of legitimate differences of opinion. Being able to express those differences openly is a more authentic experience of faith to me. I think my biggest fear is that I’m going to get into another situation where I’m going to be the one asking questions, and I’m going to be shuffled out the door again.”
“I have to be able to ask questions. It’s how I learn. What I don’t want is a church that says, “Yes, we love questions. In fact, here’s a list of acceptable questions, and here are the acceptable answers. Does God exist? Yes. Did Jesus turn water into wine? Yes. Next question.” There’s no thought or conversation, just acceptable and unacceptable questions and answers. That doesn’t work for me. I question things. It’s how I understand God. And I’m quite comfortable having that come back at me. I invite that difference.”1
Why Did They Leave?People walk out of the church every day, but any actual data about why they left
is rarely collected. This survey of Dones asked specifically about the reasons they ultimately decided to walk out the door. For each option, they were asked to rate whether it did not contribute to their decision, somewhat contributed, or strongly contributed. What emerged when this data was combined with the qualitative data from Church Refugees is a strong sense that three things matter more than anything else (see Graphic 16):
Misplaced Judgment: 71.4 percent said that judgmentalism either somewhat contributed or strongly contributed to their decision to leave the church.
We know from the qualitative work of The Dechurched Project (the research project that supported Church Refugees) exactly how judgment factors into their decision.
“I get that the church has the right to tell me if my behavior is in line with what God wants, but it just seems to be all that it does these days. It’s like the judgment gets in the way of everything else. I’d really like judgment to fall to the bottom of the list in terms of what consumes the time of people who work in churches and go to churches” (Jill, 27).
[1] Excerpt from Church Refugees, p. 80-81
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Stifling Bureaucracy: 60 percent said that a factor in their decision to leave was that the church bureaucracy was too stifling. For this group of people who are heavily involved in a church, the burdensome nature of the bureaucratic church simply made it too difficult to get things done.
“It’s like, all that time that I used to spend in endless committee meetings where we were literally picking out the color of the new carpet or deciding on a policy for who could have a key to which door was instantly replaced with really loving people and being involved in my local community. I understand that any large organization has to have some policies and procedures, but it just seemed to be all that I did. On top of that, I’m not convinced that the church has to be a large organization” (Barry, 51).
Irrelevant Teachings: Many Dones noted that the church is disconnected from their daily lives. They note that church and church teachings are not where they find God in their lives. (See the responses to the statements “The church is not where I encounter God,” “I didn’t like the lecture style of preaching,” and “Church teachings were not relevant for my life.”
“Even when I was in church, it was never the thing that mattered in my life in terms of encountering God. God was revealed to me much more in the deep and intimate relationships I had with others in my life. Now that I’m out, some friends of mine and I get together and read religious books together and talk. Those people, those conversations, and the things we read are more relevant for my life than any sermon ever was. God is present in those conversations more than he ever was in lecture from a pastor. I know that’s not the case for everyone, but it has certainly been the case for me” (Melinda, 43).
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n Strongly Contributed n Somewhat Contributed n Did Not Contribute 44%
31%
27%
26.6%
25.8%
20.6%
16.1%
16%
15.7%
14.9%
10.5%
27.4%
29%
26.6%
32.3%
33.1%
34.7%
27.4%
26.2%
23.4%
27%
18.5%
28.6%
39.9%
46.4%
41.1%
41.1%
44.8%
56.5%
57.2%
60.9%
58%
71%
0% 20% 50% 70% 100%
The church was too judgmental.
The church bureaucracy was stifling.
I didn't like the lecture style of preaching.
The church is not where I encounter God.
The church took social and political stances that I disagree with.
The church is not where I find community.
Church teachings were not relevant for my life.
I couldn't find a church that was welcoming.
I wanted to be more involved in living out God's calling in my life.
My church leaders acted unethically.
The church is not active enough in the local community.
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 16]
Dones’ Reasons for Leaving Church
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What Are They Doing?Upon leaving organized religion, Dones are generally finding sources of spiritual
fulfillment. Over 70 percent of the Dones said that they have managed to find outlets for spiritual growth since leaving organized religion. Some of them weren’t finding relevant or engaging messages in the church and found what they needed outside the institution.
“I feel like my pastor just wants to talk AT me. I mean, really, I don’t know if he knows this, but I can read. I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but why do I need to show up every Sunday morning at the same inconvenient time just to hear him read what is effectively a blog post? We never did anything together there, we just collectively listened to the same guy read something and then we collectively went back to our individual homes. If that’s what it’s going to be, I’ll just get my teaching elsewhere. I mean, honestly, how is it 2015 and the church is still delivering content the same way it did in 1815? It makes no sense. It’s like they’ve looked at all the research about how to teach effectively and all of the new media sources and said ‘meh’ and just ignored it all” (Tony, 36).
Many others report that they turned to a plethora of resources from digital media to a weekly group meal for spiritual fulfillment. Several even mentioned being more engaged with local nonprofits or nature. The opportunities, it appears, for deep theological understanding and engagement with God are endless.
When active, committed people opt out of the institutional church, it often frees up substantial amounts of time. When Dones were asked to describe what they were doing since leaving the church, the three most common responses were:
Family. Time spent getting ready for and attending church was now replaced with family time.
Community. People said that they were more engaged in their local communities, especially with groups that had no religious affiliation or crossed faith boundaries (for example, a local food bank).
Relaxing. Modern life is incredibly stressful. In the wake of stagnant wages and people working multiple jobs—and with kids involved in sports and school programs—many parents reported using their free time to simply relax.
A deeper look into these trends reveals that it’s reasonable for Americans to feel exhausted and in need of family time on a Sunday morning. Drawing on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pew Research Center produced the following chart, showing that real wages have been basically flat for decades (see Graphic 17).
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$25
$20
$15
$10
$5
0
1964 1974 1984 1994 2004 2014
(Source: Pew Research Center)
[Graphic 17]
Stagnant WagesAverage hourly wages seasonally adjusted—2014 Dollars
These flat wages have combined with an increase in worker hours over the same time period as people pursue expanded opportunities for college education, longer retirements, or participate in our consumer-driven culture. The Economic Policy Institute reports that between 1979 and 2007, the average worker increased her/his hours worked per year by 181 (see Graphic 18).
Further, it reports that much of this increase is concentrated among the most vulnerable groups: the poor and middle class, and women. These are groups of people who historically have very high rates of church attendance and participation.
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Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that people, especially families, are exhausted on Sunday mornings and use any free time they can get to relax and spend together. Instead of looking upon them as lazy, we should see instead a picture of people who are committed to their families and to providing emotional and financial security for themselves and others.1
Rather than castigating these people for not going to church, the church would do well to figure out how to support them in the wake of these new and growing pressures surrounding income and time. It simply isn’t the case that Americans have their priorities wrong or that they don’t care about church; it’s that their first priorities are to provide for themselves and their families. If their basic needs are not being met, and if the church isn’t helping them to meet those needs, then nothing else really matters to them.
n Menn Alln Women
2,200
2,100
2,000
1,900
1,800
1,700
1,600
1,915 hours
1,687 hours
1,438 hours
2,000 hours
1,868 hours
1,729 hours
1979 1987 1991 1999 2007
(Source: Economic Policy Institute)
[Graphic 18]
Hours worked per year
[1] For more details see Economic Policy Institute report, January 2013. http://www.epi.org/publication/ib348-trends-us-work-hours-wages-1979-2007
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Are They Coming Back?All this data establishes that Christians are opting out of organized religion in record
numbers as a part of a general process of institutional disengagement. The natural question to ask is whether or not they are coming back. Can the church do anything to reclaim those who have left and get them to return to the pews on Sunday mornings?
The short answer is: no, they’re not coming back—at least not to what they left. Just a little over 63 percent of the Dones said that they are “not likely” to become involved in an organized church again. Only 8.8 percent say that they are “very likely” to do so. Qualitative data from several sources confirms that although the Dones might re-engage in institutional church, they are not inclined to come back to the same kind of place that they left (see Graphics 19 and 20).
However, very few of the Dones are angry with institutional church or distrustful of its motivations, so they are generally willing to re-engage as long as the church is doing what they see as God’s work in the world. But re-engagement will not take the form of returning to Sunday morning worship services to sit in a pew and listen to a sermon. In order to re-engage with the Dones, the church needs to offer a different model of church and a different understanding of its role in facilitating community for all Christians. There is no need to abandon the current model completely, but there needs to be room in existing structures for some radically different kinds of activity.
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n Not likelyn Somewhat likelyn Very likely27.8%
63.3%
8.8%
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 19]
Dones and Future Church InvolvementWhat is the likelihood that you will ever become involved in an organized church again?
n Not likelyn Somewhat likelyn Very likely
n Not likelyn Somewhat likelyn Very likely
n Not likelyn Somewhat likelyn Very likely
n Not likelyn Somewhat likelyn Very likely
n Not likelyn Somewhat likelyn Very likely
18-25 yrs 26-34 yrs 35-54 yrs 55-64 yrs 65+ yrs
57.1%
42.9%
48.7%28.7%
75%
18.8%26.1% 60.9%
62.6%38.5%
0% 12.8% 8.7% 6.2% 13%
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 20]
Dones and Future Church Involvement by AgeWhat is the likelihood that you will ever become involved in an organized church again?
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SECTION 3: On Their Way Out—The Almost Dones
In addition to the tens of millions of Dones in the United States, on any given Sunday there are 7 million people sitting in the pews who are on their way out the door with no intention of returning. These people are the Almost Dones.
This research reveals a profile for the Almost Dones that is markedly similar to the Dones. The frustrations are the same, even if they’re felt at a somewhat lower level. The important thing to understand about this group is that it is eternally replicable. The qualitative research in Church Refugees confirms what is suggested here: As soon as these 7 million leave the church, other congregants will increasingly be asked to fill the roles of the people who left. Before long, they will be subjected to the same stresses and frustrations that the current Almost Dones face.
Some key areas of concern, however, affect the Almost Dones more than the Dones. In particular, the Almost Dones are more likely to report being turned off by extreme social and political stances taken by churches. Additionally, and perhaps relatedly, the Almost Dones are concerned that churches are not involved enough in their local communities, and this is a major factor in driving them away from organized religion (see Graphic 21).
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n Strongly Contributed n Somewhat Contributed n Did Not Contribute
0% 20% 50% 70% 100%
The church was too judgmental.
The church bureaucracy was stifling.
I didn't like the lecture style of preaching.
The church is not where I encounter God.
The church took social and political stances that I disagree with.
The church is not where I find community.
Church teachings were not relevant for my life.
I couldn't find a church that was welcoming.
I wanted to be more involved in living out God's calling in my life.
My church leaders acted unethically.
The church is not active enough in the local community.
31% 38.5% 38.5%
22.4% 46.6% 31%
15.5% 37.9% 46.6%
10.3% 48.3% 41.1%
24.1% 43.1% 32.8%
12.1% 44.8% 43.1%
12.1% 34.5% 53.4%
8.6% 40.7% 49.2%
19% 24.1% 56.9%
8.6% 25.4% 64.4%
8.6% 27.6% 63.8%
(Source: SRL)
[Graphic 21]
Almost Dones’ Reasons for Dissatisfaction
The sociological trend that is developing is one where there is a constant supply of 7 million people transitioning out of the institutional church because of the very nature of the institutional church. The only thing that will stem this tide is if churches make some alterations to their normal ways of operating.
In particular, the national survey of Dones reveals that teachings need to be more participatory and relevant, people need to have greater ability to follow their calling, and bureaucracy needs to be minimized in favor of participation and a flatter hierarchy.
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Additionally, there are a few key differences between the Dones and Almost Dones which suggest that the religious landscape will continue to change for some time. Most notably, the Almost Dones are much more theologically conservative. Whereas only about one-fourth of Dones express a fundamentalist viewpoint of the Bible, over half of Almost Dones take the position that the Bible is the literal word of God (see Graphic 22). In other words, in the coming years the phenomenon of the Dones will affect evangelical and conservative churches more heavily than it will the mainline Protestant denominations or Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Males and females comprise about an equal number of Dones, while male Almost Dones appear to slightly outnumber females (compare Graphic 7 with Graphic 23). Whether this will prove to be a significant difference remains to be seen; however, the important point is that both men and women feel a good deal of frustration with their current church experience.
52% 14%
The Bible is the literal word of God, and everything should be taken literally, word for word.
The Bible is the word of God, but should not be taken literally, word for word.
The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.
I’m not sure./I don’t know.
1%37%
[Graphic 22]
Almost Dones’ View of the Bible
(Source: SRL)
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n Malen Female56%43%
[Graphic 23]
Almost Dones by Gender
(Source: SRL)
The Almost Dones are significantly more racially diverse than the Dones. The percentage of non-white Almost Dones increases by 17 percent over the Dones. This suggests that future Dones will be a very racially diverse group, affecting all denominations (see Graphic 24; compare with Graphic 11).
Taken together, these data indicate that the phenomenon of people opting out of organized religion will not end when the current 7 million finally decide to leave. As a group, the Almost Dones will be expanding, not contracting. Furthermore, they are on course to expand their breadth rather than dig more deeply into already affected churches and denominations.
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56.3%
15.5%
15.5%
8.5%
4.2%
0%
n White (Non-Hispanic)
n Black n Native Americann Pacific Islandern White (Hispanic)
n Other
[Graphic 24]
Almost Dones and Racial Status
(Source: SRL)
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Profile of an Almost Done1
“I’m in, for now. But I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. I had high hopes for this church when I started, but the longer I’m here, the more I just keep running into the same problems. The thing that bothers me most is that there is so much potential in my church. We have this amazing building, we have all of these people who will give money, we have people who will donate time, show up on a moment’s notice—whatever you ask, really. But all we seem to ask them to do is to listen passively and build up the kingdom of this church, not the kingdom of God. Just last month, for example, the building committee that I sit on had a major workday to pull weeds, make some needed repairs—just basic building-care sort of stuff. Tuesday nights were the time that worked best for everyone, so there we were after work, over a dozen of us trying to take care of this building. As I walked in, I noticed that the three pastors were sitting around doing their weekly sermon prep meeting where they hash out what the teaching will be for that week. I can’t even tell you how much I would have liked to be a part of that conversation. Maybe I should have more humility about this, and I really don’t mind pulling weeds, but I want those conversations, too. So I don’t know. I don’t know how much longer I can sustain this. I’m happy to help, but I’d like to be part of a community, not just a dollar in the collection plate and a pair of hands on call. And no, I’m not really sure who I could talk to about this. People are always interested in you when you start going somewhere or if you’re thinking about attending, but at this point, I’m not sure that anybody would notice or care except that they’d have to fill another couple of committee slots.”
[1] “The Spiritual Lives of Religious Dones” study by SRL
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SECTION 4: What Can Be Done?
Many in the church will understandably want to know what can be done to keep people from becoming Dones or to re-engage those who have left. This research has revealed some good starting places for how to consider what might be done about the Dones.
First, the number-one turnoff for Dones when they are approached by people who want them to come back to church is an overemphasis on money. The constant quest for funds reminds the Dones of the kind of structures they were fleeing in the first place.
Second, one cannot overestimate the sensitivity of the Dones to recruitment tactics. If anything feels like an approach just to get them to come to church, they will run the other direction—fast. It has been a common practice for years now to evangelize “in place” by making friends with co-workers, classmates, and other people in your life with the ultimate goal of inviting them to church. One speaker at a church planting conference put it this way: “Invite them to dinner. Or better yet, get invited to their house for dinner. Eventually after the trust has been built up, you can introduce church into the conversation casually.”
In Church Refugees, these are called “shadow missions,” and the Dones simply aren’t having it. As one respondent explained, “If you want to have dinner with me, just have dinner with me. I’ll be there. But if I think for a second you’re trying to trick me into a friendship just so you can pump up your pew numbers, then I’m not really sure we need to talk anymore.” The Dones are sensitive to these tactics because in many cases, they employed them for years when they were in the church. Now they see them as a waste of time and an impediment to the pursuit of true, meaningful relationships that have no ulterior motives.
What the Dones want more than anything else are genuine, authentic relationships that form the basis of a meaningful community where thoughts, ideas, doubts, and action can be shared. It really is that simple. The church has been great at creating those things over its long history. It doesn’t need a new model. It just needs a slight refresh. What worked decades ago isn’t going to work now.
Churches need to listen deeply and carefully to what the Dones are saying, not because they point out a fundamental flaw in the church or in the people who run churches, but because they care deeply and passionately about all forms of church and they pursue God fervently and actively. Churches have the ability to bring people together to do more for God combined than they could have ever done alone. The Dones remind us that the form of that activity can take many different shapes but that ultimately God’s spirit cannot be contained by one model.
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In addition to the quantitative evidence presented above, the findings in Church Refugees confirm that the Dones are not interested in returning to the same structures and systems that they left. Additionally, it is clear that they are not leaving to form new structures and systems. The excerpt below helps to frame and clarify an approach to understanding the often painful choices that Dones have made.
Same Faith, New Contexts1
At the end of every interview we conducted for this project, we asked some key questions in order to understand what our respondents’ lives look like now that they’re done with church:
“How do your beliefs impact your daily life? How do you live out your faith outside of church? Can you imagine a church you’d come back to? What would that look like?”
Their answers varied widely, but there were some common themes.
Some have left and aren’t coming back. They’re not willing to be re-engaged. They can’t even begin to imagine a church they’d like. Their histories are so filled with truly awful things that returning would be irrational and unhealthy. They aren’t weaker Christians than those who stayed. They aren’t less faithful. They aren’t backsliders or spiritually immature. They have simply endured too much in the institutional church and see no reason, theologically or practically, to continue in that relationship.
Probably the best thing people in the church can do for them is to be open to hearing their stories without judgment or ulterior motives, hug them, and apologize.
But the message…is not that people have left the church and aren’t coming back. The people who’ve left and cannot imagine a way back to organized religion comprise a relatively small group. Fewer than a dozen of our respondents were in this category.
Instead, the vast majority of our respondents were either actively looking for the right circumstances to re-engage with a church, creating a new church paradigm themselves, or at least open to the idea that something could come along.
Perhaps most important, they were able to tell us what it would have taken to keep them engaged with their churches before they decided to leave. A lot of their answers sound very much like Chloe’s:
[1] Excerpt from Church Refugees, p. 112-113
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I’d like to be in a church that focuses on your value as a person and your value to the community as opposed to what you believe and who you are. I grew up with the idea of churches being about belief and a certainty about it. But I think churches should encourage rich relationships and thinking for yourself, and they should be open to changing their own thinking as they recognize that there are many ways to think that are equally valid as opposed to judging people. Am I looking for a church that “fits” my beliefs? No, not necessarily. I’m just looking more for a church that’s accepting of everyone and accepting of questions. A church that recognizes that, you know, when a person says we’re in different places spiritually, it doesn’t create a hierarchy of people. It doesn’t say, “Okay, you’re a baby Christian. I’m the senior pastor; I’m in leadership. You’re just a congregant.”
Stories like Chloe’s reveal a willingness and even a desire to re-engage by many of the Dones. They recognize that churches still have access to vast resources and an ability to organize people for mission. However, they will only engage to the extent that the church can support their already ongoing efforts at creating community, doing important work in their local towns and cities, and pursuing their own understanding of God’s call on their lives. Another excerpt from Church Refugees points toward some ways that churches can help the Dones re-engage with organized religion (the key is moderation so that existing congregations aren’t turned upside down and drive away those who currently attend):
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Four Strategies To Encourage Re-Engagement1
Invite participation—with limits. Identify key ways people can participate meaningfully with minimal barriers to entry. Give them some control over organizational resources, such as staff time and money, with little or no oversight. Trust your community.
Undermine bureaucracy. Put timelines on some positions and committees so that they dissolve when the timeline ends no matter how well or poorly things are going. Bureaucracy leads to unhealthy concentrations of power; this strategy helps to undo that.
Be truly relational. Devote staff time and resources to knowing and supporting people rather than creating and maintaining programs. Do things with congregants rather than for congregants. Offering programs leads to a service-provider mentality wherein congregants feel the staff exists to serve them. Being in relationship with people means supporting their work and doing things with them as partners. It means working on other people’s ideas as if they were your own.
Impact your community…and be impacted. Be involved locally at the grassroots level. Need and unfairness are everywhere. Work to be a change agent. Churches often try to do this as mission work or outreach that “we” do for “them.” Instead, allow the celebrations and struggles of your local community to change and shape your congregation.
[1] Excerpt from Church Refugees, p. 113-114
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ResourcesSlowing or preventing (or even stopping?) the exodus from church depends upon
accurately identifying the causes of that exodus. The research behind this summary clearly identifies those causes. Furthermore, the four strategies to encourage re-engagement in the preceding section point in a hopeful direction because they describe how churches can meet the needs of Dones and Almost Dones—and in the process strengthen the health of the church.
What remains to be done is actually implementing strategies like those mentioned above. So, in concluding this executive summary, the resources below are offered as a next step in response to the scientific information on the Dones and Almost Dones.
A more in-depth treatment of the four strategies for re-engagement can be found in Church Refugees by Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope. It plumbs the depths of the phenomena of the Dones and provides details and examples of what the four strategies might look like in the context of a local congregation.
Church leaders seeking to understand and address these issues should also pay attention to the three themes this report identified as of particular importance to the Dones and Almost Dones: (1) community engagement; (2) the style of sermons/messages during worship; and (3) how involved people feel in living out their calling. Here are some Group Publishing resources that can be helpful in addressing the first two topics:
The Externally Focused Church by Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw. Learn from churches that have made serving their communities a priority by using the resources they already have to make community service a part of their DNA.
From Couch to Community: Activating the Potential of Small Groups by Austin Maxheimer and Zach Below. Explore the mission and purpose of small group ministries, and discover how to create real life change.
Sermons Reimagined: Preaching to a Fluid Culture by Rick Chromey. The 30- to 50-minute spiritual monologue does not communicate effectively. Chromey describes new models for preaching that apply concepts through experiences and interaction rather than passivity and lectures.
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Diagnostic Survey. All three themes mentioned previously are included in a diagnostic survey that churches can use to assess the likelihood of people in the congregation becoming Dones or Nones (see Appendix). This is adapted from the survey instrument that the Social Research Lab at the University of Northern Colorado used to gather the data for this report. Results from this survey may be compared to the national data to determine a congregation’s leanings and to get a sense of how many current members might be Almost Dones. It is recommended that this survey be administered to a congregation electronically via email, using SurveyMonkey or another free survey service that can provide anonymity.
On a more general level, the predicament and promise of the American church is further analyzed and possible solutions are offered in these resources from Group Publishing:
Future of the Church Summit. This conference offers insights into trends that are shaping tomorrow’s church. Discover why church attendance is declining and what can be done to reverse the trend. Explore different models for being the church and new approaches to ministry to reach the people not attending church. www.TheFutureofTheChurch.com
Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore: And How 4 Acts of Love Will Make Your Church Irresistible by Thom and Joani Schultz. Exposes the church practices that are driving people away and thwarting spiritual growth. Also reveals what can bring them back—the four keys to reaching the “unchurched” and the “dechurched.”
Why Nobody Wants to Be Around Christians Anymore: And How 4 Acts of Love Will Make Your Faith Magnetic by Thom and Joani Schultz. Describes the reasons Christians need a reputation makeover and how to draw people into a meaningful relationship by practicing four simple acts of love—Radical Hospitality, Fearless Conversation, Genuine Humility, and Divine Anticipation.
When God Left the Building is a documentary film that reports on the social upheaval resulting from 4,000 church closures every year. It visits dying churches as well as innovative new forms of church that are thriving. These range from a ministry in a Pennsylvania pub to an outreach in Los Angeles that brings joy to skid-row moms. www.WhenGodLeftTheBuilding.com
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APPENDIXThe following survey is intended to get a sense of the culture in our congregation. For each question, please answer based on your personal experiences at [congregation name]. Please note that all responses are anonymous, and only aggregated responses will be reported. No individual data will be shared.
How old are you? m Under 18
m 18-25
m 26-34
m 35-54
m 55-64
m 65 or over
What is your gender? m Male
m Female
What is the highest level of education you have completed? m Some High School
m High School Graduate
m Some College
m Associate’s Degree
m Bachelor’s Degree
m Master’s Degree or Higher
What is your relationship to our church? m I currently attend our church regularly.
m I currently attend church, but I am on the way out.
m I no longer attend this church, but I am attending another church.
m I no longer attend any church regularly.
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If you currently attend our church, how involved are you? m I attend services but nothing more.
m I attend services and some events or a small group.
m I volunteer my time to serve in the church’s ministries.
m I am heavily involved as a leader or on staff in the congregation.
Please mark how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about our church.
Strongly Disagree
DisagreeNeither Agree nor Disagree
AgreeStrongly Agree
My church leaders act ethically. m m m m m
My church is welcoming. m m m m m
My church takes social and political stances that I agree with.
m m m m m
My church is active enough in the local community.
m m m m m
My church is where I encounter God. m m m m m
My church is where I find community. m m m m m
Church teachings are relevant for my life.
m m m m m
I want to be more involved in living out God’s calling in my life.
m m m m m
The church bureaucracy is stifling. m m m m m
The church is too judgmental. m m m m m
My church has a lecture style of preaching that I like.
m m m m m
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In your opinion, is our church engaged enough in our local community?
m Yes
m No
Generally speaking, do you feel equipped and empowered to do the work God is calling you to do in this world?
m Yes
m No
How often do you pray? m Daily
m Weekly/Monthly
m Seldom/Never
How important is religion in your life? m Very important
m Somewhat important
m Not at all important
Which of the following best describes your view of Scripture? m The Bible is the word of God, and everything should be taken literally,
word for word.
m The Bible is the word of God but should not be taken literally, word for word.
m The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.
m I’m not sure./I don’t know.