Seven Key Reasons People Choose a Church

Why did you choose to come to this church?

I ask the question hundreds of times each year, especially to people who joined a church within the past year.

Now we have new research that gives us specific reasons why people decide on a particular church. As I noted in my previous post, I am grateful to Pew Research for their massive study on the behavioral patterns of members and guests.

In their most recent study, the respondents noted seven key reasons for choosing a church. They were allowed to offer more than one reason. Here are the top seven responses:

  1. Quality of sermons (83%). The primacy of the pulpit is the number one factor for those looking for a church home. These results are very similar to my research published in the book, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, the demands on many pastors make it difficult for them to put the time they need in sermon preparation.
  2. Feeling welcomed by leaders (79%). It is so important for pastors and staff to take the lead in welcoming guests. No, they are not supposed to do all the welcoming, but their role has a huge impact.
  3. Style of services (74%). I would love to be able to unpack this response a bit more. One thing, however, is clear. People are still choosing churches by the styles of worship of the congregations. The numbers are overwhelming. Three out of four church seekers say worship style is a factor for the church they choose.
  4. Location (70%). I want to be careful not to say things these numbers don’t mean to say. But I would surmise that location is more important today than it was ten years ago. This reality would at least partly explain the dramatic increase of multi-site churches. Churches are going to the communities where the people are. It also prompts us to follow the trends of large regional churches. Will people more and more prefer a church in their own community rather than driving to the regional church?
  5. Education for kids (56%). This number is incredibly high, especially since many families do not have kids at home. Obviously those who do have children at home consider this issue vitally important. “Education” likely refers to more than the teaching ministry to children; it probably encompasses the total scope of children’s ministry. I have said on more than one occasion the first staff member I would bring to the church after the pastor would be a children’s minister.
  6. Having friends/family in the congregation (48%). Relational connections are very important. We see this issue to be so important that we created a ministry (Invite Your One) to engender an attitude of inviting. Those same connections play a crucial role in the assimilation process in the church as well.
  7. Availability of volunteering opportunities (42%). This factor was very encouraging to me. People no longer want just to sit and soak; they want to get involved. If guests know there are opportunities to get involved quickly in the church, they are more likely to choose that church. I have no doubt the Millennials are instrumental in this number being as high as it is.

From my perspective, these seven factors are not huge surprises; they are really affirmations of much of what we have been sharing with you.

The real issue is not the intrigue of this research; it is what you and your church will do about it. I would love to hear your comments and ideas.

Posted on October 5, 2016


With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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29 Comments

  • There is only one criteria I use to choose my church. Do they understand autism? If they don’t then there is no future for me there.

    Autistic people are a challenge because they are intensely loyal; they are not afraid to get involved; they say what they think; they always tell the truth which a lot of people can’t handle especially pastors; they are not into nuances; what they know they really do know and people don’t like a person knowing so much when they are not the pastor and especially if they know more than the pastor which they often do; they are not afraid to voice their opinion; their feelings are expressed in words.

    Sadly, people take autistic people the wrong way. They think that they are criticising or telling people off but they rarely do that. Most of the time they saying things as they see them because that is how they express themselves. Rarely is anything said with malicious intent.

    An example is a friend of mine who has an autistic boy. They were in the shopping centre and he said to his mother “that woman is fat.” The woman was fat and he was telling his mother what he had observed as a matter of fact. Not a matter of judgment.

    When dealing with autistic people it is important to not take offence at what they say because no offence is intended.

  • Hi there! Thanks for taking the time to share these seven factors. #4 especially resonates with me. When I first moved to my current location, I was single and researching churches. Ministry for young people was a huge factor that I considered when evaluating churches. I had no immediate plans to have children, but knowing that a community was invested in supporting the growth of younger generations was critical. A ministry geared toward young adults was also a big factor (probably because I am one!). Thanks for sharing!

  • Ben Vernon says on

    Hi Thom, another great article from you. It bothers me that so much depends on what guests think about the pastor and their preaching, but that’s how it is. Like others here, I’d like to know more about worship style preferences.

    I pastor a small rural church with around 40 in worship on Sunday. There’s plenty of potential for growth.

    Maybe you could do a follow up on the top 10 things successful churches are doing to attract and keep guests, or the top 5 things a pastor can do to attract guests? Thank you.

  • Wanda Fontaine says on

    Great info. Love these updates.
    I do strongly feel that a church will show how well and alive it is by its children and youth ministry. The young are the motor and future of the church. The older saints must not give up investing time an d money in mentoring the future generations.

    The worship wars must cease and remember we gather to praise God, Grow spiritually and Go out to reach the lost.
    Wanda

  • Phil Hoover says on

    What saddens me though:

    People don’t “choose” a church because it is a house of compassion, or a house of prayer…but mainly because it is a “house of preaching” or a “house of music.”

    What happened? I LONG to be in a church where the prayers of God’s people are heard before anyone ever opens the doors to enter the sanctuary.

    25 years ago I had the wonderful blessings of worshipping with the Times Square Church in mid-town Manhattan (NYC, not Kansas). What so impressed me then, and still impresses me: I could hear the saints praying for an hour before the worship gathering ever started. I could hear the packed out sanctuary of people praying before I ever entered the building…

    I miss that.

    • Deborah C. says on

      I would not become a member of a church without a regular prayer meeting (at least weekly). When I searched for a new church for our family, I started with the statement of faith. The doctrine of the church is most important to me. But a weekly prayer meeting is also important. Too many churches have done away with, or never scheduled a congregational prayer meeting. I believe that is one of the many reasons our churches are so weak.

  • Thom,

    I am curious if these numbers are any different for unchurched vs. those who are changing churches. Any insight?

  • Robbie Norman says on

    I’ve been pastor at a small rural church (grown from 40-50 to 100-125 in worship) for 13 months. We recently did an informal Q&A with our church on Sunday evening where most of our core people (30 or so) return. I asked for them to share what they believed to be the strengths of our church. Interestingly enough and to my honest surprise they said that the sermons were a main strength. I asked them to elaborate more and they said that the messages were sound in doctrine but at the same time the sermons connect across all generations. They said it makes it easy for them to invite people because they feel God will use the messages to help reach people. As a result, it makes me want to continue working on being a better preacher. I have a long way to go. Great motivation to keep going!

    Secondly, they shared how welcome people feel as a result of how our leadership takes the time to meet and greet everybody along with the rest of our church. Visitors comment how welcome and loved they feel. This is part of the reason the church has grown.

    Now to make disciples who make disciples!

  • Thom — #3 — can you unpack this a little. For instance — is there a particular style most are looking for??? Is there a style Millennials are looking for? A style older lost vs. younger lost are looking for? What part does authenticity play in their selection? I know you may not be able to address all, but would like a little more info to be able to effectively process. Thanks

  • Timothy Huckaby says on

    I am just curious about thoughts on #3. Style of services. It seems that people take it as a negative if someone chooses a church based on a particular worship style ( I am assuming we are talking about music).

    My question is: Why would you choose a church that you do not feel comfortable about the worship style? I realize there are many other important resons for picking a church, but why attend a church if you cannot comfortably worship God?

  • The top two in this list do not surprise me at all. In my last pastorate, after hitting too many intrinsic barriers to change and growth (which I inherited), I made myself the biggest project. Personal development and growth became my focus and I became a better preacher and leader. I decided that while I was waiting and growing in influence with my lay leaders, I’d use the time to grow the gifts that God had given me. While the congregation never reached her growth potential, my ministry flourished and the Lord moved me onto other opportunities of service. As I now observe, consult, and minister in about 40-45 different churches each year, the churches I see which practice most of the seven practical points listed in this article, are vibrant and growing.

  • Phil Hoover says on

    In this small town of Cleveland TN (population approximately 70K people), there are more than 400 churches…Everything from the very large congregations to the very, very small congregations…

    I am part of a medium-sized congregation…and there are just a few reasons:

    1) The Holy Spirit made it clear to me that I was to be part of this local church body.
    2) I was a member of this congregation when I started college 36 years ago (subsequently moving, and returning).
    3) The church is only a 7 minute walk from my apartment (and there are two congregations closer to me, believe it or not).
    4) I’ve known some of the “older” saints in this congregation for more than 36 years…and as one friend said I still have the “scent of family” on me.

    When I lived in Chicago (for almost 16 years) I traveled almost an hour every Sunday morning (on public transit) to attend The Moody Church…passing several congregations on the way down to Lincoln Park. I can relate to each of the criteria listed above…..but the relationships meant the most to me. For three of those 16 years, I worshipped elsewhere (again, almost an hour commute on public transit every Sunday morning), but always missed Moody Church…and was glad to finally return.

  • Christopher says on

    I find number 4 interesting. I think that believers should support the church body in their own community unless there is a compelling biblical reason not to. This is especially true in small towns. However, our small town is only a 20 minute drive from a small city with a couple of blowin’ and goin’ churches, as my mother in law would say. We simply can’t compete with the resources of those churches, either in terms of finances or people. Many people from our town drive to one of those two churches. I’m sure some will say that we’re not doing our job otherwise people wouldn’t drive past our church on their way to the big churches. There’s always room for improvement but for those that are attracted by huge, multi-level children’s programs, sophisticated technology, shiny new facilities, and top notch musicians, we just can’t provide those things. It becomes a cycle of attrition as more and more financial and people resources go to the big church making it harder for our small town church to compete which results in more and more financial and people resources going to the big church…

    • Thanks, Christopher.

    • Christopher,
      I completely understand where you are coming from. I attend a church small country church that 2 years ago only had a regular attendance of about 40 people; we have slowly made some changes in technology and embracing social media. Most importantly we make sure every Sunday the gospel is preached. I agree it’s hard to compete with some of the new buildings and some of the concert type worship services that some offer, however they cannot replace the gospel. Today we have seen an increase in our attendance to around 200 per week. We try to find new ways to deliver the message, but never change the message.

    • Christopher, do you think it’s possible those people drive past your Church because they want to be unknown?

      What I mean is, in a large Church, it’s easy to blend into the crowd and hide – just to satisfy a religious desire to ‘attend Church’ or to reduce guilt by not attending. In a smaller Church, it is very difficult to hide, so those people prefer a larger setting.

      We have found this issue with our Church. We have about 400-500 people every Sunday, but only 100-150 people attend small groups on weekdays, and about 40-50 attend the monthly prayer meeting.

      I am not saying that all 300+ ‘guests’ are there because they want to hide, but I suspect many are as they don’t get involved in the Church when requested. Also, the giving doesn’t represent the growth we have seen over the years.

      For me, the Simple Church book has helped me see how different ministry’s are all trying to pull members in different directions. Instead we should be focusing on moving the ‘guests’ into membership.

    • Hi! You should check out Small Town Church conference hosted by Pastors Tony and Sheryll Ashmore! They are incredible pastors and people that host a conference and give insight on how to do small town church’s

    • I live in Australia and the same issue is happening here. The big churches seem to get bigger, drawing people away from the smaller churches. I have come to the conclusion though, that smaller churches need not feel inadequate. There are people who don’t feel comfortable in a bigger church and love going to smaller ones. It isn’t about the numbers. God knows who is in each church. Our role in smaller churches (and all churches), is to grow the people, equipping them to outreach. We need to have people coming through our doors to be saved, not for church hopping. Take the stress out of it, preach the Word strongly, do outreach for His Kingdom and God will take care of the rest. We have gone through losing some people from our church. We have become stronger by coming together in much prayer and decision making on where to next. It has been a test, but we are starting to see the fruits of persevering. Can I encourage you not to give up, just look up and not worry about the numbers game. Blessings x

    • Our church is somewhat in the same boat. We are a small independent Bible church…no attachment to a parent denomination. We feel we have better quality teaching (for both adults & kids) but the church across town with a coffee shop, no crosses (someone may be offended) and all the bells & whistles garners the lion’s share of sheep!

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