LifeWay was able to survey more than 1,000 Protestant churchgoers, who attend services at least once a month, and 54 percent of them made it known that they would change their church if the doctrine is changed.
Only 19 percent made it known that they would leave if the preaching style changed, 9 percent made it known that they would leave over politics, 6 percent also made it known that they would do so if they didn't feel needed, and only 5 percent would leave if the music style changed.
Churchgoers care about doctrine, said by Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. "Still, pastors can't assume everyone in the pews agrees with their preaching. Overall, 94 percent believes mostly on all of their church's teachings. But there's still substantial wiggle room. Every time a pastor gets up to preach, there's a good chance more than a few people in the pews are going to disagree."
The survey made it clear that 35 percent of churchgoers have stayed in their church between 10 and 24 years, 27 percent for 25 years or more, 21 percent for less than five years, and 17 percent for between five and nine years.
Lutherans (52 percent), Methodists (40 percent) and Baptists (31 percent) are most likely to have been at their church for 25 years or more. Fewer nondenominational (11 percent) or Assemblies of God/Pentecostal churchgoers (13 percent) have such long tenure," the study said.
"Most church members have been at their church longer, even than their pastor," noted McConnell.
The study further found that over 57 percent of churchgoers say they are completely committed to continuing to attend their current church, 28 percent said they are "very much" committed, 11 percent are moderately committed, 2 percent are slightly committed, and 1 percent are not committed at all.
The more often people go to church, the more they are committed to remain in the same church in the future, and churchgoers who have evangelical beliefs are more likely to be completely committed than those who don't have evangelical beliefs, the survey showed.
According to a report released by The Barna Group in January, 35 percent of teenagers identify as atheist, agnostic, or religiously unaffiliated, a higher percentage than millennials. This is one reason why pastors think of deviating from traditional worship.
Some churches have been planted or have shifted their worship style to reflect the preferences of younger generations in hopes of reaching these religiously unaffiliated demographics. These include The Table in Washington, D.C., City of Truth in Kansas City, Missouri, and Grace Capital City in Washington, D.C., where millennials are not only part of the church, they basically are the church.
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