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Yesterday we highlighted some research by LifeWay Research that investigated the reasons behind why people leave the church. But there is a second part to the research that explores how to bring back the formerly churched. The Christian Post published the findings, and highlights from their article include:

The Probability

• 62% of the formerly churched adults said they are open to the idea of attending church regularly again, but not actively looking.
• 28% said they are unlikely to consider regularly attending church in the foreseeable future.
• 6% said they would prefer to resume attending regularly in the same church they had attended.
• 4% said they are actively looking for a different church to attend regularly.
• The average formerly churched adult has not attended regularly for 14 years.

The Catalyst

• 58% said they simply felt that it was time to return to the church.
• 41% said a friend or acquaintance invited them.
• 35% said they would return if they knew there were people there like them.
• 31% felt that God was calling them to visit the church.
• 25% said they would resume if their children asked them to go with them to church.
• 25% said they would go if an adult family member invited them.

 The Motivation
(For the large majority who were self-motivated to return to church)

• 46% said it was to bring them closer to God.
• 32% want to be around those with similar values.
• 31% want to make friends.
• 30% want to make a difference of help others in their community.

A few thoughts from the staff of LifeWay Research on attracting the formerly churched include:

• Many members are vulnerable to attrition because of either a nonexistent or immature faith. When individuals begin to seek out membership, they should be guided through a process whereby they are clearly taught the gospel and then, following salvation, grounded in strong biblical truth. Far fewer people would drop out of church if their spiritual foundation was deep and strong. The church also must be sensitive to this combination of a less developed but genuine desire for faith as they approach the formerly churched about returning.
• Affinity will never happen at a significant level without the church fostering a culture of concern, fellowship and involvement.
• The openness of the majority of the formerly churched to rejoin the flock is reason enough for the church to seek them out. That means having an effective outreach strategy for identifying, praying for and contacting formerly churched adults to shepherd them back to the fold.

What are your thoughts? How would your church reach out to the formerly churched?

Special thanks to Monday Morning Insight for highlighting the article.