Lifeway Survey Skips Data

In another odd piece of research, LifeWay asked about 1,000 Protestant pastors whether, in their opinion, adding a worship service or expanding a building had positively affected attendance.  Many did, but it’s not apparent that any measures were taken to verify the numbers independently.   That’s like asking someone who just spent $300 on a gym membership if he’s lost weight – without putting him on the scales.

Respondents were asked to consider seven types of expansion: building new or additional ministry space on their present site (27% of those surveyed had done so) building at a new site (4%), adding services on or off site (28% and 10%), going online with streaming worship or teaching (14%), launching a new church (28%) or merging with another church (3%).

Researchers admit that pastors in churches that have implemented a particular type of expansion were “more likely to strongly agree that it leads to growth.”