The perks of going to church are manifold. In addition to music and preaching, many people find a sense of community at the churches they attend. And that’s just as well, since a new study finds that nearly 20 percent of church attendees come alone.
That’s according to LifeWay Research, which has just released a new study on the company we keep at Protestant churches. A little over half of churchgoers attend with a spouse and a third bring their children along,
About 11 percent attend church with a friend and three percent go with someone who doesn’t have a way of getting to church on their own. And 19 percent go alone.
Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, suggested that many more people would be open to attending church if they knew they had someone to go with.
“Many weeks, it’s hard enough for attendees to get themselves to church, so it’s not surprising few are stopping to pick up a neighbor,” he said. “The reality is, if every Christian driving or riding to church this week used the extra vehicle seats around them to bring other people, churches would likely not be able to contain the crowds.”
