Pastors' view of worship attendance trend over the past five years
Percent of U.S. Protestant pastors, 2018 (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Stayed the same (37%). Lowest: Decreased (27%).
- Stayed the same: 37%
- Increased: 36%
- Decreased: 27%
Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Optimistic About Church’s Future, Regardless of Past Struggles · Lifeway Research phone survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, June 19 - July 2, 2018. Article published 2019-02-13.
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Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Stayed the same (37%). Lowest: Decreased (27%). Stayed the same: 37%. Increased: 36%. Decreased: 27%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2018. Source: Lifeway Research, Pastors Optimistic About Church’s Future, Regardless of Past Struggles (https://research.lifeway.com/2019/02/13/pastors-optimistic-about-churchs-future-regardless-of-past-struggles/).
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More Attendance statistics
- Change in congregations' worship attendance over two years Lifeway Research, 2026
- Churchgoers' views on the amount of liturgical style in their church Lifeway Research, 2026
- Regular religious service attendance by age group Lifeway Research, 2026
- Adults who never attend religious services, by age group Lifeway Research, 2019
- Americans who say they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque Lifeway Research, 2019
- Attenders who say becoming closer to God is a primary reason they attend Lifeway Research, 2019
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.