Trying to reach an unchurched friend for Christ? Feel free to talk about faith to her, but don’t be surprised if she isn’t interested in going to church with you.
A new study from LifeWay Research finds Americans who don’t go to church are happy to talk about religion and often think about the meaning of life.
They’re open to taking part in community service events hosted at a church, going to a church concert, a sports or exercise program or even a neighborhood get-together at a church.
But only about a third say they’d go to a worship service, if invited by a friend. Few think about what happens after they die and more than half of Americans who don’t go to church identify as Christians.
Those are among the findings of and online survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research in partnership with the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.
Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, said “Unchurched Americans aren’t hostile to faith,” “They just don’t think church is for them.”
For this survey, “unchurched” means those who have not attended a worship service in the last six months, outside of a holiday or special occasion like a wedding.
McConnell said Christians may be reluctant to talk about their faith out of fear of offending their friends. But the survey discovered that fear is unfounded.
His take away from the study, “If faith is important to you, then your friends will be interested in hearing about it.”