Mass attendance has become a primary concern of parishes across the US, currently estimated at just 33% of Catholics participating weekly. Now, a study from ACS Technologies, a group that has surveyed the religious preferences and practices of US adults since 2013, is suggesting that “warm and friendly encounters” are very important for the retention of the faithful.
In a press release, ACS Technologies explained that it has conducted its “American Beliefs Study” on three separate occasions from 2013 - 2021 in order to produce a series of nine reports that revealed changing behaviors within communities of faith. The data around responses to the question, “What do you look for when searching for a new parish?” led the group to conduct a followup survey in February 2024.
The study found that US Christians best respond to interactions that they deem “warm and friendly.” Terry Poplava, General Manager of ACST Catholic, a division of ACS Technologies, suggested that churches may have an easier time filling the pews if they increase the prevalence of such “warm and friendly” interactions. Furthermore, the upcoming Christmas season may be the best time to start:
“Christmas is a time that churches usually see an influx in attendance, and it gives us an incredible opportunity to perform outreach initiatives based on reliable data,” said Terry Poplava. “In the American Beliefs Study, newcomers reported that ‘warm and friendly encounters’ were highly important to them. We were specifically interested in the behaviors and circumstances that foster this kind of environment in a parish.”
Surveying some 1,075 US Christians, the group asked them to rate a number of church actions by how “warm and friendly” they were. Respondents in the Catholic sample group suggested that they would respond best to the following actions:
- Someone at the door greeting you with a smile
- Seeing a friend in attendance
- Someone offering you a seat at Mass
- Someone personally inviting you to attend a church (Mass)
- Hearing all visitors welcomed by a church leader
- Someone personally inviting you to Mass.
These results led Poplava to offer parishes a few suggestions as to practices which may attract the faithful. He stressed invitation, conversation, and community experiences as impactful to Catholics. The report suggested celebrating the growth of your parish as a community, as Catholics tend to become more invested in the Church and more willing to invite others when the community of a parish is strong.
Poplava also suggested that greater efforts need to be taken in regards to building trust. Noting that the Church is the means for the faithful to “fall in love with Christ,” he suggested that newcomers to a parish should be intentionally reached out to and followed up with at a later date. Poplava said:
“The most important thing to note when looking at these findings is that most are made by fellow church attendees, showing that the Catholic call to evangelization is quite simple,” Poplava said. “These are practical ways you can evangelize while going about your normal weekly Mass routine.”
