Falling family attendance – do more, church leaders urged

Families have stopped prioritising church following the pandemic, and church leaders are being told we must do much more than trying to ‘coax’ them back. 

Researchers found that since the pandemic, families’ engagement with church had fallen by almost half (48% of those surveyed) – yet faith in the home appeared to have improved. Just 16% of families indicated an increase in their engagement with church since the pandemic.

The study was carried out by Liverpool Hope University and sponsored by organisations including Care for the Family, Evangelical Alliance and the National Institute for Christian Education Research.  The authors of the report describe the drop in family attendance as ‘concerning’ and said there is a ‘significant disconnect between the perceptions of church leaders and parents about what is needed going forward’.