Survey respondents cited the following top reasons to head to church:
Church helps my spiritual development (39 percent)
Opportunity to find out more about God (38 percent)
Opportunity to make friends and nurture friendships (38 percent)
Knowing that anyone will be welcomed into the church community (38 percent)
Opportunity for support during difficult times (37 percent)
David Kinnaman, president of Barna and director of the study, said church leaders can use the findings to offer genuine community for young seekers across life experiences.
“Young adults are connected to social media nearly every waking hour, but four of the top-five reasons they might attend church point to a profound need for community that is deeper than what’s available virtually,” Kinnaman said in a statement to United Methodist Communications. “In fact, twice the number of U.S. adults tell us they are lonely compared to 10 years ago ”” and that relational gap represents a real opportunity for churches that want to reach young seekers.”
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