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Most churchgoers say they want to serve, fewer actually do

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By Marissa Postell Sullivan, Lifeway

This story originally appeared in May 23, 2023 issue of Baptist Press. Across Idaho and Utah, churches have a heart for community involvement. It is encouraging to hear reports of churches doing ministry to strengthen their connection with the areas they serve. However, while the desire is there to serve, Lifeway research tells us that fewer churchgoers actually put “boots on the ground” and “hand the plow” to actually serve.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) – Although most churchgoers want to serve in their communities for Gospel impact, there is a noticeable gap when it comes to the number who are already volunteering for a charity.

Most Protestant churchgoers say their churches encourage them to serve people not affiliated with their church and that they want to do so. But few have volunteered in the past year. More than 4 in 5 churchgoers say their churches encourage every adult to serve people outside their church (84 percent) and they want to serve these people in hopes of sharing the Gospel (86 percent).

Despite saying they want to serve people who are not a part of their church, few churchgoers are even serving within the context of their own churches. Two in 3 (66 percent) churchgoers say they have not volunteered for a charity (ministry, church or non-ministry) in the previous year. Three in 10 (30 percent) say they have, and 4 percent are not sure. According to the latest findings of the U.S. Census Bureau, 23 percent of Americans volunteered through an organization between September 2020 and September 2021.

“The easiest way to serve others is when a charity or group organizes the effort,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “They recognize the need, come up with a plan and often gather needed resources. You just have to show up. Churchgoers say they want to, but less than a third showed up to help a charity in the previous year.”

In another 2022 Lifeway Research study, Protestant pastors said churchgoers were more likely to serve in the church than in the community. Pastors estimated, on average, 42 percent of their adult churchgoers were involved with regular responsibilities at their churches. And pastors estimated an average of 27 percent of adult churchgoers were involved in serving in the community.

The gap between desire and action

Although younger churchgoers – 18-34 (91 percent) and 35-49 (91 percent) – are more likely than those 50-64 (84 percent) and older than 65 (79 percent) to say they want to serve people in their community who are not affiliated with their church, the oldest churchgoers (those over the age of 65) are the most likely to say they participated in any type of volunteer work in the previous year (40 percent).

Denominationally, Methodists are the most likely to say their churches encourage them to be involved in ministry that serves community members not affiliated with the church (98 percent) and among the most likely to say they want to do this in hopes of sharing the Gospel (95 percent). Still, Methodist churchgoers are the most likely to say they did not participate in any volunteer work in the previous year (88 percent).

“This study did not measure service churchgoers may have done individually for their neighbors. Meeting such needs as they arise is a great form of service,” McConnell said. “But some of the most widespread needs in communities require volunteers working together, something that the majority of churchgoers don’t do over the course of a year.”

A similar gap between desire and action exists for Christians sharing their faith, according to a 2022 Evangelism Explosion study conducted by Lifeway Research. More than 9 in 10 (93 percent) self-identified Christian adults in the U.S. say they are at least somewhat open to having a conversation about faith with a friend. And around 4 in 5 (81 percent) feel similarly about speaking about faith with a stranger. Yet, in the past six months, 53 percent had a conversation about faith with a loved one. And 40 percent had a conversation about faith with a stranger.

Although many factors may contribute to this gap, pastors identified one in a 2021 Lifeway Research study that may play a role in churchgoers’ hesitation to get involved in both evangelism and community service – comfort. More than 2 in 3 Protestant pastors (67 percent) say comfort is a modern-day idol that has significant influence in U.S. churches.

Cultivating desire that leads to action

Theological beliefs and church attendance frequency contribute to the likelihood a person wants to serve and will have actually volunteered outside of their congregation. Those who attend a worship service at least four times a month are more likely than those who attend one to three times a month to want to serve people in their communities (88 percent v. 82 percent). The most frequent church attendees are also the most likely to have volunteered in the past year (37 percent).

Additionally, those with evangelical beliefs are more likely than those without to have a desire to serve those in their communities who are unaffiliated with their churches (90 percent v. 83 percent) and to have served to in the past year (37 percent v. 25 percent).

“Service is contagious. When you are regularly participating in the life of your church, people you get to know will ask you to serve with them,” McConnell said. “Doing good things with friends is enjoyable and easier to find time to do.”

For more information view the complete report and visit LifewayResearch.com.

Methodology

Lifeway Research conducted the online survey of 1,002 American Protestant churchgoers Sept. 19-29, 2022, using a national pre-recruited panel. Respondents were screened to include those who identified as Protestant/non-denominational and attend religious services at least once a month. Quotas and slight weights were used to balance gender, age, region, ethnicity, education and religion to more accurately reflect the population. The completed sample is 1,002 surveys. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 3.3 percent. This margin of error accounts for the effect of weighting. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

“Evangelical beliefs”are defined using the National Association of Evangelicals and Lifeway Research evangelical beliefs research definition based on respondent beliefs. Respondents are asked their level of agreement with four separate statements using a four-point, forced-choice scale (strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree). Those who strongly agree with all four statements are categorized as having Evangelical Beliefs.

  • The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
  • It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
  • Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
  • Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marissa Postell is a writer for Lifeway Christian Resources. Read All by Marissa.

ZBJune

Zenas’ Brief – June 2023

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ZBJune

So, You’re Sending Messengers!

What’s a messenger and what should the messenger expect?  A “messenger” is a delegate appointed by an affiliated SBC church to attend the SBC Annual Meeting on the church’s behalf.  Much goes on at the annual meetings, messengers will meet people, hear speakers, visit vendors, and hopefully have a fun and informative time. Being a messenger has definite legal aspects and responsibilities. The collective messengers are similar to a legislative body, like Congress, they make decisions through asking questions, speaking, and voting.

When messengers arrive at the meeting, they first need to check in at the Credentials Desk and upon registration will be given a packet of materials including an itinerary, copies of reports, and documents, resolutions, anticipated actions, and more. The messengers need to become familiar with those. Each day, a newsletter will be distributed that gives updates and information about the day’s activities. There will be several sessions at which Baptist entities (for example, the International Mission Board) will make reports, elections will be held, motions or resolutions will be proposed, discussed and voted on, etc.  Look, learn, and listen….and vote as God leads.

In choosing messengers, ensure that you are picking people who exemplify the qualities of 
1 Timothy 3:8. We also recommend confirming travel plans, reimbursements, and insurance for messengers.

The SBC Annual Meeting is a great opportunity to learn what others are doing, experiencing,  thinking…and especially to enjoy “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4: 3). Afterwards, it would be great if your messengers let us know their thoughts and experience. Thanks for going!

Redemption Leaders

Seminary President brings hope for life after death to Weber State

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Ogden, UT – Dr Jamie Dew, President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary spent an evening with Weber State University students and faculty answering questions about life after death. This was a great opportunity to present a biblical perspective to students who may have a differing worldview. 

In preparation for the event, Redemption College Ministries along with a supporting mission team from Mississippi personally invited nearly 1,000 students. They were also able to survey over 300 students on the subject of life after death to generate student interest in the subject, and have gospel conversations. It became clear to us that students have extremely diverse perspectives on life after death. We learned that while life after death interests students, very few have any kind of certainty or hope concerning eternal life. 

As students and community members arrived at the event they received a raffle ticket for door prizes, a Bible, information for Redemption College Ministries, a gospel conversation guide, a response card with a pen, and Dr. Dew’s notes to follow along with his talk. Our ministry leaders were able to connect with several new faces from Weber State and the community. 

Dr. Dew delivered a biblical, apologetic, and philosophical argument for why life after death is a coherent perspective to hold. He spoke on the biblical expectation of a life after physical death. He then argued that the philosophical basis for such an expectation is in the immaterial reality of the human soul. If humans are more than their material beings and are a soul, it is natural to trust in biblical claim of life after death. 

After the presentation, Dr. Dew took several great questions on the concepts of faith, materialism, addictions, resurrection, and much more. We closed the conversation with Dr. Dew defining Hell as eternal torment, Heaven as eternal bliss, and the only pathway to eternal bliss is through trusting in the person and work of Jesus. After handing out the door prizes, Jamie continued conversations with students and community members on this subject. Leaders from Redemption received three response cards that are being followed up with by campus leaders. 

The success of this event encouraged leaders to hosting more Perspectives conversations and events next school year! They were thankful for the partnership of the UISBC to make this quality event possible for the students of Weber State and the community of Ogden. The event was a success in that eighty-four people were encouraged and challenged with the coherent nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hundreds more were given the Gospel in preparation for the event. Our prayer now is that we would be faithful to continue the momentum created through the event and that God would give the increase for His glory (1 Cor. 3:7). 

To watch the event On Demand, click this link

To download a copy of Dr Dew’s notes on the topic, click this link 

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Dr Jamie Dew, NOBTS President
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Jamie and Tera Dew at Weber State campus
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Leaders were encouraged
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Opportunities to hear about the ministry of NOBTS was provided
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Redemption Leadership was grateful for great volunteers
Riverside-Church-Emmett-Idaho-1024x574

Idaho church plant focusing on local evangelism

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Reprint of original story published on the February 6, 2023 issue of Baptist Press

Riverside Church, Emmett, ID

EMMETT, Idaho (BP) – Riverside Church, having successfully grown a 2019 church plant into a constituted church later that same year, plans to emphasize evangelism in 2023.

Starting its first community groups to disciple and organically nurture emerging leaders also is anticipated this year, Pastor Hugh Orr told Baptist Press.

“God has really put a burden on my heart for our church to step up our efforts in evangelism, to encourage people to understand there are people every day who are dying who don’t know Christ, right here in Emmett,” Orr said. “It’s every Christian’s privilege and responsibility to tell people about the Gospel and what Jesus has done for the world.

“I’m trying to remind people that, if we love our neighbors, we have to do this. That’s our emphasis this year, to stoke that fire in people’s hearts, to tell the Good News.”

Pastor Hugh Orr

Orr’s first class at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary a few years ago, had included a video on the Cooperative Program, the way Southern Baptists work together spreading the Gospel in North America and throughout the world. At the time he wasn’t Southern Baptist.

He chose Southeastern because it was the only seminary that offered a half-price tuition break to military veterans.

“I watched that video and was sold immediately,” Orr said. “I was living in Idaho, going to Creekside, and I told the pastor, ‘This is great! A little church like us can actually be involved in church planting in North America, and overseas missions too.’ I sold him on the idea to become a Southern Baptist church – I think it was 2015 – and that’s my total exposure to the SBC.”

The idea that eventually became Riverside Church started with a video Orr saw, about a church of 80 that had planted several churches. He was part of another 80-member congregation, Creekside Baptist Fellowship (now Creekside Bible Fellowship) in Eagle, Idaho, about 30 minutes south of Emmett, in southwest Idaho near Boise.

“Wouldn’t it be great,” Orr said to his pastor, “if we were to plant a church some day?”

Or maybe Riverside Church started with the prayers of another church in the association. Orr, at the time an associate pastor at Creekside in Eagle while working for the U.S. Postal Service and attending seminary online, talked about church planting at a gathering that included Clint Henry, pastor of Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho.

“We’ve been praying for a church in Emmett for at least 10 years,” Henry said, according to Orr’s recollection.

It was early 2018. Orr, soon to graduate with his M.Div., had been considering what to do with God’s call to the ministry, though Orr hadn’t considered church planting until Henry brought the need in nearby Emmett to the forefront of his mind.

Later that year, “Two, three, four families from Emmett – none of them knew each other – started coming [to Creekside in Eagle] right at the time I was getting geared up to plant the church,” Orr said. “We told them early next year we’d be planting.

“We kind of had a built-in launch team from the beginning. Five families were excited about it. I preached every Sunday for three months, so they got a preview of what the preaching would be like at the new church.”

Orr and his wife Pam, who had moved to Emmett in late 2018, opened their home to a Bible study followed by supper on Sunday afternoons. In early February the fledgling congregation moved, at the unsolicited invitation of the pastor of Gem Community Church, to share their building.

“Since our people were used to meeting Sunday afternoons at our home, it was not hard to transition,” Orr said. “We had 21 at the beginning, and about 30 within six months in that small church building.”

The congregation moved in October 2019 to Sunday morning services at a much larger Seventh-day Adventist church building. That same month they constituted as a stand-alone congregation that allocated 10 percent of undesignated offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program.

Riverside Church this January started an eight-week course in evangelism.

“The first half is laying the foundation, learning what is evangelism, what is your personal testimony and some of the reasons we don’t evangelize,” Orr said. “The rest of it will be ‘how to,’ like how to steer conversations to things of God. 

“A lot of evangelism is just intentionality,” the pastor continued. “Community groups will help with that. Community groups are an onramp to get introduced to the Gospel.”

As friends and neighbors join in the community groups, the Gospel will be shared, and “sharing with others will encourage others to do the same,” Orr said.

Riverside’s main outreach each year is Emmett’s annual Cherry Festival, which takes place in June. The church has a booth manned by church volunteers, who pass out free ice water, share the Gospel, invite people to church, give Bibles upon request, and pray for those drawn by the church’s sign, which says “Can we pray for you?”

The church’s mission statement is, “Making disciples who will exalt the name of Jesus in Emmett and beyond.”

Like everywhere, people in Emmett, known as the “gateway to Idaho’s backcountry,” often are too busy, focused on what’s happening in their lives on any given day, the pastor said.

“The way I try to change that [with those who attend Riverside] is by emphasizing, ‘This is real, my friends. People are going to go to hell. You might be the only Christian they ever meet. Engage them. See where they’re at.’

“I was much more fervent when I was first saved,” Orr continued. “I was fired up because it was so new, so real in my life. I think that’s true for many Christians. Then the years go by. Now, when we stop and think about it, we say, ‘I really should do more.’ It’s so hard to find the time. That’s why we talk here [at Riverside Church] about trying to – needing to – create the time. And pray that the Lord will give us opportunities, divine appointments.”

By Karen L. Willoughby
A frequent contributor to UI Connections and Baptist Press. She can be reached at karenwby@gmail.com 

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