A new survey on Christmas trends has been published by LifeWay Research. https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lifeway-Americans-Aug-2024-Christmas-Report.pdf
LifeWay takes time each year to gauge the holiday pulse of the American people. Once again, their research has shown that Christmas is still important in the hearts and minds of most people. In the report, Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research said, “The very name ‘Christmas’ originates in the church’s celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. In the mid-14th century, the words ‘Christ’s Mass’ were first merged as a single term for this celebration. We discovered that 9 in 10 Americans do something to celebrate Christmas, however, less than half typically attend church at Christmastime today.”
Most pastors know that Easter, Mother’s Day and Christmas will be the most attended services of the year. At West Haven, we plan our Christmas Dinner on the first Wednesday of the month, we offer a minimum of three Sunday Services dedicated to Christmas and one Christmas Eve service. No less than five events in the month of December to give people an opportunity to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. As I tell my congregation every year, most people who normally don’t attend church are looking for an invitation at this time of the year. They would like to go, but they don’t know where to go. This year’s report gives us the data to backup what we know to be true concerning those who are looking for a personal invite!
McConnell’s report shows: Those who don’t typically show up at Christmas may simply be waiting on an invitation. Most (56%) say they would likely attend church if someone they know invited them to attend with them at Christmas time, including 17% who are very likely. Around a third (36%) say they’re unlikely, including 24% who are very unlikely. Another 8% say they’re not sure.
“More than 1 in 8 Americans are convinced they would not attend a Christmas service if an acquaintance invited them. However, the majority of Americans who do not typically attend church at Christmastime say they probably would if they were invited by someone they know,” said McConnell.
The research goes further to show that: Catholics (71%), Protestants (65%) and Americans of other religions (58%) who don’t typically attend during Christmas are more likely than the religiously unaffiliated (40%) to say they’re likely to attend a service if invited. The religiously unaffiliated are the most likely to say they are unlikely to attend if invited (55%).
What about those church attenders you have not seen at your church in a while? The survey shows that Christians who already attend church, at least occasionally, are more likely to show up this time of year if invited. Christians who attend a worship service about once a week (76%) and those who attend once or twice a month or only on religious holidays (69%) are more likely than those who rarely or never attend (52%) to say they’re likely to show up if invited.
What does this all mean? If you ask someone to attend, the odds are in YOUR favor that they will say yes! What more of an invitation do YOU need to invite someone to come with YOU this week?
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” Psalm 122:1
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
LifeWay takes time each year to gauge the holiday pulse of the American people. Once again, their research has shown that Christmas is still important in the hearts and minds of most people. In the report, Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research said, “The very name ‘Christmas’ originates in the church’s celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. In the mid-14th century, the words ‘Christ’s Mass’ were first merged as a single term for this celebration. We discovered that 9 in 10 Americans do something to celebrate Christmas, however, less than half typically attend church at Christmastime today.”
Most pastors know that Easter, Mother’s Day and Christmas will be the most attended services of the year. At West Haven, we plan our Christmas Dinner on the first Wednesday of the month, we offer a minimum of three Sunday Services dedicated to Christmas and one Christmas Eve service. No less than five events in the month of December to give people an opportunity to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. As I tell my congregation every year, most people who normally don’t attend church are looking for an invitation at this time of the year. They would like to go, but they don’t know where to go. This year’s report gives us the data to backup what we know to be true concerning those who are looking for a personal invite!
McConnell’s report shows: Those who don’t typically show up at Christmas may simply be waiting on an invitation. Most (56%) say they would likely attend church if someone they know invited them to attend with them at Christmas time, including 17% who are very likely. Around a third (36%) say they’re unlikely, including 24% who are very unlikely. Another 8% say they’re not sure.
“More than 1 in 8 Americans are convinced they would not attend a Christmas service if an acquaintance invited them. However, the majority of Americans who do not typically attend church at Christmastime say they probably would if they were invited by someone they know,” said McConnell.
The research goes further to show that: Catholics (71%), Protestants (65%) and Americans of other religions (58%) who don’t typically attend during Christmas are more likely than the religiously unaffiliated (40%) to say they’re likely to attend a service if invited. The religiously unaffiliated are the most likely to say they are unlikely to attend if invited (55%).
What about those church attenders you have not seen at your church in a while? The survey shows that Christians who already attend church, at least occasionally, are more likely to show up this time of year if invited. Christians who attend a worship service about once a week (76%) and those who attend once or twice a month or only on religious holidays (69%) are more likely than those who rarely or never attend (52%) to say they’re likely to show up if invited.
What does this all mean? If you ask someone to attend, the odds are in YOUR favor that they will say yes! What more of an invitation do YOU need to invite someone to come with YOU this week?
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” Psalm 122:1
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
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