Latest Research Shows Church Attendance Is Linked to Relational Health, Mentorship, and Meaningful Connection

State of the Church release points to the power of purposeful Christian community — and where it needs strengthening

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Gloo and Barna Group have released the latest research for State of the Church, an initiative that includes monthly research and church assessment tools to help leaders see trends and better understand the sentiments of their communities.

This month's research focused on the impact of community on the relational flourishing of churchgoers. Themes included: 

• Church attendance
• Discipleship
• The impacts of small groups
• Barriers to discipleship
• Mentorship trends

"There's no question that the church environment creates opportunities for people to connect and ultimately grow in deeper ways on their spiritual journey," said Brad Hill, chief solutions officer at Gloo. "But this latest research underscores the impact that face-to-face relationships have — from attending church and small groups regularly to bridging generational gaps in mentorship and support. These findings can really assist leaders at any type or size of church to get their people more connected."

Key highlights:

1. Discipleship. Nearly two-thirds of churchgoers (64%) tell Barna they are presently being discipled.
2. Small groups matter. For churchgoers who attend a small group, 68% say their group would support them in a time of need, 62% say their group feels like family and 55% say their group is essential to their faith.
3. Barriers to small groups. For churchgoers who do not attend a small group, when asked why they don't, they most frequently say "I am not that active with my church" or "I am too busy and don't have time" (19% each).
4. Mentorship. Sixty-seven percent of churchgoing adults say they have a mentor; of these, around half (51%) say they met their mentors through church.
5. A mentorship gap. Among churchgoing adults, while the majority of Gen Z (86%) and Millennials (83%) are engaged in mentorship, engagement drops among older generations (65% Boomers, 42% Gen X, 24% Elders). Moreover, 45% of Boomers and 42% of Elders in the Church claim no interest in acting as a mentor.

"People flourish when they have relationships that foster their spiritual growth," said David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group. "Though older adults seem less inclined to mentor people, there's a ripe opportunity for them to share their wisdom, especially among young adults, who see the value of being discipled one-to-one and in small groups."

In January, Barna and Gloo will release new research on trends in church engagement.

The full findings of this month's release, which includes data from the Discipleship in Community report produced in partnership with RightNow Media, are available on Barna Access Plus, Barna's subscription-based research library. Leaders can learn more about the largest initiative for the Church at stateofthechurch.com.

Gloo is the trusted tech platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. Gloo connects ministry leaders to resources, people, insights, and funding so their people and communities flourish and their organizations thrive. Gloo does this with the highest standards of trust and scalable economic models. Gloo serves over 75,000 churches and more than 1,000 resource partners. 

Barna Group is a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. Since 1984, Barna has conducted more than two million interviews over the course of thousands of studies and has become a go-to source for insights about religion, leadership, vocation and generations. Barna is an independent, privately-held, nonpartisan organization based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas.

SOURCE Gloo