Working with ministers, I often hear erroneous assumptions about churchgoers.

To learn more about churchgoing habits and trends, Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts recently asked more than 1,000 American evangelical Protestants about their experiences.

The resulting report, Church After COVID: Changes in Evangelical Engagement, sheds light on common areas of misunderstanding, including the following eight.

1. Digital Church

I frequently hear that digital church has supplanted in-person worship attendance. So far, this isn’t the case.

Before the pandemic, online services were slowly gaining traction. Yet many churches had limited remote options at best.

More churches stream services today, but virtual attendance often supplements in-person gatherings rather than supplanting them.

Although 22% of evangelicals do not attend church in any form even once monthly, most evangelicals (67%) attend weekly, either digitally or in person.

Among regular churchgoers, 65% participate in person at least once monthly, including 54% who attend weekly. And 54% view services online or on television at least once monthly, including 39% who do so weekly.

2. Attendance Habits

Another assumption is that in-person and virtual attendance are mutually exclusive options. However, many churchgoers attend both in person and virtually.

Among those who view digital services at least occasionally, 43% attend in person weekly, and 17% attend in person one to three times monthly.

Still, a sizeable minority of virtual attenders (40%) rarely or never show up for in-person services.

3. Entry Point

Some church leaders assume people start their relationship with a church by visiting virtually. That’s seldom the case, however.

Most in-person churchgoers visited their congregation for the first time in person, not online.

In fact, just 8% first engaged with their church by watching digital services, compared to 82% who initially visited in person. For another 10%, the entry point was a special event, such as a festival or concert.

Dropping in remotely is growing in popularity, however. Since the pandemic, the share of churchgoers who first visited their church online has tripled, from 5% to 15%.

4. Invitations

If you assume congregants never invite people to church, think again.

As it turns out, 6 in 10 evangelicals started attending their current church at the invitation of someone they knew.

Personal invitations require no financial investment, involve churchgoers in evangelism, and make first visits easier for many newcomers.

There’s an implied recommendation in an invitation. And as our study shows, it is an effective form of outreach.

5. Target Demographics

One harmful assumption is that older people will attend church regardless of whether anyone reaches out to them.

Many churches intentionally target young people, and it seems this is paying off to some extent. Among evangelical churchgoers under 35, 71% started attending their current congregation by invitation. Another 17% say their first contact was a church-related event, not a service.

Meanwhile, just 51% of those 55 and older started attending by invitation, and only 5% experienced an event.

Even though older evangelicals outnumber younger ones, evangelicals under 35 are just as likely as those 65 and older to attend in-person services weekly. Further, young adults are more likely to attend than evangelicals aged 55–64.

While trying to attract young people, churches may be missing opportunities to reach older community members.

6. Church Loyalty

Pastors frequently lament a loss of congregational loyalty, but church hopping is not as prevalent as many assume.

Although 22% of evangelicals do not attend church in any form even once monthly, most evangelicals (67%) attend weekly, either digitally or in person.

The average in-person churchgoer has regularly attended 3.3 churches during his or her lifetime. Twenty percent of evangelicals have regularly attended only one church as adults, and 27% have attended just two.

On average, evangelicals have attended their current church for 14.4 years. (The median is eight years at the same church.)

The pandemic did shift some attendance patterns. Sixty-three percent of churchgoers attend the same congregation they did before 2020.

Eleven percent started attending their current church during 2020 or 2021, and 26% did so after 2021.

Regular attenders are the most loyal to their congregations. Weekly churchgoers have spent a median of 10 years in their current church. But for evangelicals attending infrequently, the median is just five years.

In other words, the people you see every week will likely stick around. Occasional attenders are more prone to switching churches.

7. Major Draws

Pastors can usually name one or two reasons their church attracts people. But assuming there is a simple formula for drawing crowds would be a mistake.

When choosing from a list of 21 possible reasons they selected their current church, the average evangelical selected 5.3 factors as important in their decision.

Teaching is one of the biggest draws, with two-thirds citing sermons/teaching as an important factor. This includes relevance (48%), ability to hold their interest (44%), and depth (42%).

Equally important are factors related to the congregation (65%), including knowing people who attend (41%), finding common ground with others (30%), and church size (26%).

About half (52%) cite the church’s beliefs. This includes theology and overall views (45%), as well as the church’s denomination or non-affiliation (20%).

Worship is a significant factor for 49%, including the overall style of the worship service (44%) and music (23%).

Less important factors were the church’s programs (39%), such as Sunday School or Christian education (22%); small groups (15%); children’s ministries (15%); youth ministries (13%); and special events (5%).

Additionally, 39% chose their current church because they like the senior pastor.

The “place” is a major factor for 38%. This includes a convenient location (34%) or an appealing building or facilities (9%).

Some pastors might assume location is a more significant consideration than these figures suggest. However, people with multiple churches in close proximity will look to other factors for differentiating the options.

8. Engagement

Many church leaders believe attracting newcomers should be the main goal. While such outreach is important, engaging and keeping people who already attend is equally vital.

Over 16 million evangelicals attend church in-person, but not weekly, including 10 million who are not even attending monthly. These evangelicals may identify with a particular congregation, but they are not engaged enough to make regular attendance a priority.

Those who do not attend services regularly tend to be less spiritually engaged, neglecting habits like studying the Bible and praying.

Perhaps church leaders should start thinking of these occasional attendees as an internal mission field.

It is no good trying to fill a bucket that has a hole. Working hard to attract new people is great. But church leaders need a plan for engaging people in congregational life once they come in the doors or join a service online.

Many congregations have strategies for drawing newcomers, but none for retention, engagement, and discipleship.

Sixteen million American adults already have evangelical beliefs, but lack the commitment — or engagement — to worship regularly with others who share those beliefs.

It is easy to accept stereotypes and assumptions as true. It is harder to seek out and respond to facts.

Yet honest research and introspection are critical to gaining a full understanding of churchgoers in American society today.

This article appears in the Winter 2025 issue of Influence magazine.