Nearly one in five church attendees go alone

LifeWay Research, recently released a study which examines the attendance patterns at Protestant churches. It found that 19 percent of respondents went to church alone.

 A little over half of churchgoers attend with their partner and that around one third will have their children also attend.

About 11 percent of respondents said they attended church with a friend and three percent went with someone who did not have a way of getting to church on their own.

Scott McConnell is executive director at Lifeway Research. He told Relevant Magazine that people going alone to church had an effect on whether or not others made it.

“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 neighbour,” Mr McConnell 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.”

It should be noted that this is an American survey, but its findings may be replicated in an Australian setting.