New attendees who did not previously attend church at all
Average percent of those new to a Protestant church, as reported by pastors, 2025 (in percent)
Key finding
- New attendees who did not previously attend church at all: 20%. In the average church, 20% of those new to that church are people who did not previously attend church at all
Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Report Growing Attendance, but Fewer Unchurched Newcomers · Lifeway Research study sponsored by the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. Article published 2026-09-01.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
New attendees who did not previously attend church at all: 20%. In the average church, 20% of those new to that church are people who did not previously attend church at all.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2025. Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Report Growing Attendance, but Fewer Unchurched Newcomers (https://research.lifeway.com/2026/09/01/pastors-report-growing-attendance-but-fewer-unchurched-newcomers/).
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About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.