wfn.org | Survey offers new details on United Methodist congregations

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

May 2, 2002 News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{199}

A UMNS Report
By Tim Tanton*

United Methodists are more involved in small-group study, fellowship
activities and community work than people in the "average" U.S.
congregation, according to recently released survey findings.

Nearly two-thirds of United Methodist worshipers - 64 percent - participate
in their congregations' small-group activities, such as church school,
social clubs and fellowships, and prayer or discussion groups, according to
the U.S. Congregational Life Survey Project. In contrast, 46 percent of the
respondents from all congregations surveyed participate in those types of
activities.

"This is remarkable the United Methodists are doing this," said Craig This,
director of research and planning for the denomination's General Council on
Ministries in Dayton, Ohio. The prevailing notion had been that people were
less involved in groups, he said.

The U.S. Congregational Life Survey Project is based on April 2001 data
provided by more than 350,000 worshipers in over 2,000 churches, the largest
such sampling ever taken, according to U.S. Congregations in Louisville, Ky.
The survey, with a 3 percent margin of error, was conducted by Cynthia
Woolever and Deborah Bruce, both with the Research Services Office of the
Presbyterian Church (USA).

Respondents included 15,000 United Methodist worshipers in more than 150
congregations. The survey also canvassed worshipers from other Christian
traditions as well as Judaism and Buddhism.

Offering the most detailed look ever into the pews of the United Methodist
Church, the U.S. Congregations study reaffirms points that were already
known and "throws up some challenges," This said. 

For him, the level of small-group participation was the most surprising
finding in the survey.

Some of the numbers "are not great," he told United Methodist News Service,
"but we are reaching out to people." Fifty-two percent of United Methodist
worshipers invited people to attend services in the preceding 12 months,
compared with the 46 percent national average; and 19 percent regularly
participate in evangelism activities in the wider community, compared with
13 percent for all congregations.

The church's connectional character is evident in the fact that half of
United Methodist worshipers are involved in community services, social
justice or advocacy activities, compared with 37 percent for the national
average of worshipers polled. They also are more likely to be involved in
local church leadership, with 56 percent holding at least one key position
in their congregation compared with the national average of 38 percent.

On the down side, the U.S. Congregations survey provides further evidence
that all traditions, including United Methodism, are drawing only a small
percentage of new members from people who are "unchurched." In the United
Methodist Church and U.S. congregations in general, "first-timers" account
for only 8 percent of the people who have attended a local place of worship
for five years or less. That means that most congregational growth comes
from people who are already churchgoers.

"All you're doing is recycling" people, This said. Thirty-six percent of the
people in United Methodist pews are transfers from other United Methodist
congregations, 29 percent are "switchers" from other denominations, and 27
percent are "returnees" who have been absent for an extended time.

The message in the numbers is that churches must encourage their members to
be more inviting. "You have got to make the personal contact," This said.

The data also reinforce earlier research showing that the average United
Methodist is female and graying. Of the worshipers surveyed, 63 percent were
female, which is in line with the national average for all congregations.
Seventy-two percent of the United Methodist worshipers were 45 or older, and
39 percent were 65 or older.

Older age might account for the fact that 78 percent of the United
Methodists prefer traditional hymns, compared with 38 percent for praise
music or choruses. "They want organ and piano," This said. (The percentages
add up to more than 100 because respondents could choose more than one
category of musical preference.) 

While United Methodist worshipers draw as much inspiration and "sense of
fulfilling obligations" from their worship services as folks in other
congregations, they also report feeling slightly less joy and a much lower
sense of awe and mystery. Eighteen percent said they "always" or "usually"
experience boredom during services, compared with 6 percent for all
congregations.

GCOM staff executive Nelda Barrett Murraine said she was most surprised to
find where United Methodists attend church. "The largest number of members
are in the larger churches," she said. Those are churches with 351 or more
members.

Two-thirds of United Methodist congregations have less than 200 members but
only a quarter of the denomination's U.S. membership. The remaining
one-third accounts for 75 percent of U.S. members, according to the 2000
General Minutes.

Though membership has been declining in the United Methodist Church, weekly
attendance is growing, This noted. That raises the question: Is membership
the best indicator of whether a church is making disciples of Jesus Christ?

About one-third of United Methodist worshipers have been attending their
church for five years or less. Pastors must make a concerted effort to draw
and keep those people in the church by staying current in focus and
strategic planning, This said.

The information from U.S. Congregations and another interdenominational
survey, Faith Communities Today, form the basis of a General Council on
Ministries' research project called "Do You Know United Methodist
Congregations?" 

Starting May 15, GCOM will make a series of summaries and in-depth reports
on the data available to the denomination. Details will be posted by then at
http://www.gcom-umc.org/research/research_life_survey.shtml, a site that is
currently under construction.
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*Tanton is news editor for United Methodist News Service.

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United Methodist News Service
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