The relational aspect of churchgoing is critical to sustaining engagement—and we see that most churchgoers actively seek relational connection at services.
When Barna asked U.S. adult churchgoers who they talk to before, during or after church, at least half say they engage with a pastor (57%), other attendees (53%) or church staff (50%). These simple interactions represent important entry points for deeper discipleship community—and leaders can help congregants consider how to strengthen those moments and take their Sunday engagement a step further.
We clearly see key differences in relationship patterns: Boomers are significantly more likely to talk with other attendees (73%) than Gen Z (32%) or Millennials (49%). Married individuals are more likely to engage with pastors (61%) than unmarried attendees (52%).
Additional Barna research shows how small groups might be helpful in bridging gaps in relationships across demographics. Barna’s 2025 Discipleship in Community report identifies two defining characteristics of small groups that effectively foster discipleship: belonging and deep relational connection that “feels like family.”
Churchgoers who attend these types of small groups are 40 percentage points more likely than churchgoers who do not attend small groups to strongly agree “my church does a good job at building deep and meaningful community” and “my church does a good job of helping me understand my calling” (68% vs. 28% and 60% vs. 20%, respectively).
It’s also important to note that about one in five U.S. adults who’ve never been to church or haven’t been in at least six months say they have no community at all, representing a significant opportunity for churches to provide welcoming spaces for connection.
As churches prepare for an influx of new visitors this Easter, understanding how to intentionally and actively connect visitors to community and groups may be a great way to serve newcomers.
Read more about how church engagement is evolving and where there’s growing opportunity for connection in our recent State of the Church release, Church Engagement Today, available exclusively on Barna Access Plus.
About the Research
February 2025 Barna OmniPoll: In February of 2025, Barna Group conducted a survey of 1,532 U.S. adults. This survey utilized quota sampling for representation of all U.S. adults by age, gender, race / ethnicity, region, education and income. Minimal statistical weighting has been used when necessary to maximize statistical representativeness. The margin of error is +/- 2.3% on a 95 percent confidence interval.
Discipleship in Community: An online survey of 4,063 U.S. Protestant churchgoing adults (ages 18 or older) was conducted March 18–27, 2024. Churchgoers are defined as adults who self-report attending church at least monthly. Barna surveyed adults from any Protestant denomination, mainline or non-mainline. The margin of error for the sample is +/- 1.4 percent at the 95 percent confidence interval. For this survey, researchers used an online panel for data collection and observed a quota random sampling methodology. Quotas were set for age, gender, region, race / ethnicity, education and income to achieve representation according to estimates calculated using U.S. Census Bureau data and Barna’s historical knowledge of churchgoers for comparison. Minimal statistical weighting has been applied to maximize sample representation.
