Study shows significant increase in contemporary and diverse worship styles in Protestant churches
(Original release date: March 4, 2004) Study results being released for the first time in the March/April edition of Facts & Trends magazine show a significant increase in contemporary worship styles in Protestant churches over the last five years. Churches trending toward more contemporary worship styles outpaced those moving to more traditional styles by an 11-to-1 margin.
Facts & Trends is published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. The study was conducted for Facts & Trends by Ellison Research, a full-service marketing research firm in Phoenix, Arizona. The study was conducted among a representative sample of 659 senior pastors of Protestant churches throughout the United States.
Ministers were asked whether the overall style of worship in their church had changed in the last five years. Fifteen percent said their worship has become much more contemporary, and another 36% said it had become a little more contemporary. Forty-four percent noted no significant change, while 5% said their worship has become more traditional in the last five years.
Larger churches and those led by younger ministers were the ones most likely to see a significant shift toward more contemporary styles. Twenty-seven percent of churches with 200 or more in the congregation had become much more contemporary, compared to 14% among mid-size churches, and 9% among churches with fewer than 100 people in the congregation. Similarly, pastors who were under age 60 were almost twice as likely to have led their church toward much more contemporary worship as were older ministers (9% to 16%).
In addition, Pentecostal churches were more than twice as likely as non-Pentecostal churches to report a significant shift toward contemporary worship styles (31% to 12%).
The study also explored specific worship elements or styles churches use today, compared to what was used five years ago.
The greatest increase was in the use of electronic media. Five years ago, only 5% of all Protestant churches used PowerPoint or similar computer graphics presentations at least once a month. Today, projected computer graphics are used in 36% of all churches. Very similar figures appeared for showing video clips during the worship services, such as clips of movies, music videos, or popular speakers. Five years ago, just 4% of all churches used video clips during worship services; today, that is up to 29%.
Three other elements increased by more than 50% over the last five years. In 1999, 38% of all churches used praise and worship choruses during worship, while today that figure stands at 74%. The use of Christian rock, pop, or country music has risen from 9% five years ago to 25% today, and the use of drama skits or sketches has gone from 23% to 42%.
Still, the most popular elements of worship continue to be the best-known and most traditional. At least three out of every four churches currently pass an offering plate, bag, or basket in the worship service (95%), celebrate communion (89%), sing traditional hymns (88%), use a printed bulletin or order of service (85%), and use hymnals (78%) at least once a month in worship. Use of some of these elements has actually increased in the last five years; in 1999, for instance, just 68% of churches used a printed bulletin or order of service.
Less common, but still in use in at least half of all Protestant churches, were praise and worship choruses (74%), altar calls (67%), children’s worship or a children’s sermon (65%), a choir (62%), congregational or responsive readings (52%), and worship services offered on Sunday evenings (51%).
Under half of all churches currently use drama (42%), identify visitors by asking them to stand, raise their hands, etc. (38%), use PowerPoint or similar graphics (36%), use video clips (29%), or play Christian rock, pop, or country music (25%). And while church music has become much more contemporary and diversified in the last half-decade, still just 7% of all churches use any secular music during worship (similar to 4% five years ago).
Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, said the study found considerably more diversity in worship today than was present just five years ago. “Of the seventeen worship elements we explored in this study, the average church today uses 9.8 of them once a month or more,” Sellers noted. “Five years ago, the average church used 7.3 of them. Even traditional elements such as hymns, altar calls, and communion celebrations have become more common as churches diversify what they offer to worshipers.”
Sellers also pointed out that the greatest growth had come in worship elements that still were used by fewer than half of all churches. “Drama, video clips, computer graphics, and pop music were among the fast-growing elements, with still a lot of room for growth,” he said.
Although much has changed in worship just in the last five years, one thing that has not changed is the length of the sermon. The average pastor preaches for nearly 31 minutes today – about the same as five years ago. Pastors in the study preached for anywhere from eight minutes each week to almost two hours. Pentecostals tended to have the longest sermons, averaging just under 40 minutes. Of the major denominational groups, Lutherans (20 minutes) and Methodists (just under 22 minutes) had the shortest sermons, on average.
Facts & Trends, where this information is being published, is designed to assist pastors, church staff and denominational leaders in their roles of ministry by informing them about LifeWay resources and how they relate to current issues in Christian ministry. For information about Facts & Trends, e-mail chris.turner@lifeway.com . To get a free subscription to the magazine, send your name and address to Facts & Trends, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0192; e-mail facts&trends@lifeway.com ; or telephone 615-251-3698.
The study was conducted by Ellison Research, a marketing research company located in Phoenix, Arizona. The sample of 659 Protestant ministers included only those who are actively leading churches. The study’s total sample is accurate to within ±3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level with a 50% response distribution.
The study was conducted in all 50 states, using a representative sample of pastors from all Protestant denominations. Respondents’ geography, church size, and denomination were carefully tracked to ensure appropriate representation and accuracy.
Which of the following does your church use at least once a month in one or more of your worship services (today vs. five years ago)...
| Worship Element | Today | Five Years Ago |
|
95% | 80% |
|
89 | 72 |
|
88 | 76 |
|
85 | 68 |
|
78 | 73 |
|
74 | 38 |
|
67 | 52 |
|
65 | 47 |
|
62 | 55 |
|
52 | 44 |
|
51 | 44 |
|
42 | 23 |
|
38 | 34 |
|
36 | 5 |
|
29 | 4 |
|
25 | 9 |
|
7 | 4 |
Current worship situation, by denominational group...
| Worship Situation | Southern Baptist | Other Baptist | Methodist | Lutheran | Pentecostal | All Others |
| Over the past five years, your church's worship has become... | ||||||
|
18% | 3% | 14% | 15% | 31% | 15% |
|
44 | 37 | 52 | 46 | 20 | 34 |
|
36 | 47 | 33 | 34 | 47 | 49 |
|
2 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
|
1 | 3 | -- | 2 | -- | 1 |
Worship elements currently used at least once a month... |
||||||
|
97 | 96 | 94 | 99 | 94 | 94 |
|
75 | 90 | 92 | 99 | 92 | 88 |
|
96 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 70 | 85 |
|
93 | 83 | 99 | 92 | 59 | 88 |
|
83 | 88 | 97 | 92 | 53 | 72 |
|
89 | 60 | 88 | 59 | 93 | 68 |
|
97 | 86 | 68 | 5 | 92 | 47 |
|
67 | 53 | 84 | 84 | 64 | 61 |
|
76 | 68 | 87 | 91 | 44 | 48 |
|
40 | 39 | 80 | 88 | 34 | 53 |
|
82 | 68 | 29 | 11 | 68 | 40 |
|
47 | 35 | 46 | 50 | 46 | 42 |
|
40 | 48 | 38 | 6 | 56 | 30 |
|
44 | 32 | 29 | 25 | 43 | 37 |
|
41 | 24 | 26 | 17 | 39 | 28 |
|
30 | 16 | 35 | 22 | 33 | 22 |
|
3 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 8 |
| Average sermon length (minutes) | 32 | 35 | 22 | 20 | 40 | 29 |
Numbers may not add to exactly 100% due to rounding. "Don't know" responses are not shown. The survey included all Protestant denominations, but the groups shown separately in the table above were the only ones with large-enough subsamples to examine separately.
