Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against his church, but sleet and hail will keep many churchgoers out of the pew on a Sunday. In fact, some may even skip to get a little extra sleep or watch their favorite team.<\/p>\n\n
Respondents were asked how often they would skip a weekly worship service for six different scenarios—to avoid severe weather, to enjoy an outdoor activity in good weather, to get extra sleep, to meet friends, to avoid traveling when it’s raining, or to watch sports.<\/p>\n\n
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research said, “Churchgoers are not on autopilot. Each week they are faced with a choice of whether to attend church, and there is more than one tradeoff when it comes to this decision.”<\/p>\n\n
Most regular churchgoers say they would miss a weekly worship service at least once a year:<\/p>\n\n
\nTo avoid traveling in severe weather (77%)<\/p>\n
To enjoy an outdoor activity (55%)<\/p>\n
To get some extra sleep (54%)<\/p>\n
To meet a friend or group of friends (50%)<\/p>\n
To not have to travel when it was raining (43%)<\/p>\n
To watch a sporting event or their favorite team (42%)<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
One in 10 Protestant churchgoers (11%) say they would never skip for any of these reasons. Twice as many (22%) say they would never skip due to the five options besides severe weather situations.<\/p>\n\n
Additionally, the oldest group of churchgoers (65+) and those of other ethnicities (not white, Hispanic, or African American) are among the least likely to say they’d miss for those reasons.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[410,411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[433],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3452,3601,3604,3612,3911,3960,3982,4160,5046,5049,5066,5269,5305],"tax_ctp_topics":[378,382],"class_list":["post-34725","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-attendance","tax_ctp_tags-church","tax_ctp_tags-church-attendance","tax_ctp_tags-church-involvement","tax_ctp_tags-excuses","tax_ctp_tags-family","tax_ctp_tags-fellowship","tax_ctp_tags-home","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-formation","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-growth","tax_ctp_tags-sports","tax_ctp_tags-weather","tax_ctp_tags-worship"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\n
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