{"id":32821,"date":"2022-09-10T16:24:31","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/two-thirds-of-churchgoers-have-invited-someone-to-church\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:24:31","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:24:31","slug":"two-thirds-of-churchgoers-have-invited-someone-to-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/two-thirds-of-churchgoers-have-invited-someone-to-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-Thirds of Churchgoers Have Invited Someone to Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Bob Smietana<\/em><\/p>\n

NASHVILLE, Tenn.\u2014America\u2019s Protestants like to invite their friends to church.<\/p>\n

At least once in a while.<\/p>\n

Nearly two-thirds of Protestant churchgoers say they\u2019ve invited at least one person to visit their church in the past six months, according to a new report from Nashville-based Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fairly easy thing for churchgoers to do,\u201d said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. \u201cIn any six-month stretch, there are major Christian holidays and often other special events that are perfect occasions for churchgoers to invite friends and acquaintances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Church invitations fairly common<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For the study, Lifeway Research surveyed 1,010 Americans who attend a Protestant or nondenominational church at least once a month.<\/p>\n

Churchgoers were asked how often they\u2019d invited an individual or a family to attend a worship service with them at their church in the last six months. They could include repeated invitations to the same people. Invitations counted even if they were turned down.<\/p>\n

Seventeen percent say they extended an invitation. Twenty-one percent extended two invitations, while 25 percent extended three or more. Nine percent say they don\u2019t know how many invitations they extended.<\/p>\n

Three out of 10 say they didn\u2019t invite anyone (29 percent).<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a pretty substantial number,\u201d said McConnell. \u201cFor a number of churchgoers, inviting people to church isn\u2019t on their radar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Church invitations are harder to come by in some parts of the country. Forty-two percent of churchgoers in the Northeast say they hadn\u2019t invited anyone, while 37 percent of Midwesterners skipped the invitations. By contrast, only 24 percent of Southerners and 26 percent of those in the West say they hadn\u2019t invited anyone.<\/p>\n

Invitation rates also vary by denomination.<\/p>\n

Churchgoers who attend Assemblies of God or other Pentecostal churches (71 percent) and those who attend non-denominational churches (69 percent) are more likely to say they\u2019ve invited at least one person to church. Lutherans (55 percent) and Methodists (53 percent) are less likely.<\/p>\n

Forty-three percent of Methodists say they had not invited anyone, as did 41 percent of Lutherans. Fewer nondenominational (20 percent), Baptist (22 percent) or Assemblies of God\/Pentecostal (23 percent) churchgoers skipped invitations.<\/p>\n

Churchgoers who are Baptist (31 percent) or Assemblies of God\/Pentecostal (30 percent) are more likely to have invited three or more people than Lutherans (17 percent) or Methodists (15 percent).<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the more often people go to church, the more likely they are to invite someone to go along. Twenty-seven percent of people who attend at least once a week had invited three or more people. That drops to 10 percent for those who attended once or twice a month.<\/p>\n

Almost half of those who attend services once or twice a month had not invited anyone to go with them (46 percent). By contrast, 26 percent of people who attend at least once a week had not invited anyone.<\/p>\n

Inviting people not top of mind<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Researchers also asked churchgoers why they didn\u2019t bring more people to church with them.<\/p>\n

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See also  Most Open to Spiritual Conversations, Few Christians Speaking<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s a natural question since most congregations want more people to experience Christian community, McConnell said. And they want more people to have a relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cInviting people to church should be commonplace,\u201d he said. \u201cStill, some churchgoers don\u2019t put much thought into inviting others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty-one percent say \u201cI don\u2019t know why\u201d when asked why they don\u2019t invite more people. Twenty percent say people have refused their invitation. Seventeen percent say they don\u2019t know anyone to invite, while 11 percent say they aren\u2019t comfortable asking people to come to church.<\/p>\n

Only 4 percent say inviting people isn\u2019t their job.<\/p>\n

McConnell said he\u2019s a bit concerned with people who say they don\u2019t know anyone to invite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s problematic,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a small but significant number of churchgoers who seem to have no contact with people who don\u2019t go to church.\u201d<\/p>\n

McConnell said he\u2019s not surprised to find that people turn down invitations to come to church. A 2016 Lifeway Research study found only a third of unchurched people said they were likely to come to a church worship service if invited (35 percent).<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s culture, you might be inviting someone to attend a church service for the first time in their lives,\u201d he said. \u201cCommunicating the value of why a churchgoer attends is going to take some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bob Smietana<\/h2>\n

@bobsmietana<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bob is the former senior writer for Lifeway Research. In September 2018, he joined Religion News Service, where he currently serves as a national writer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n