The 2023 FACT Survey: Results and Next Steps
The Siburt Institute is participating in the newest “FACT survey” under the leadership of Dr. Suzie Macaluso, our research director. The FACT surveys are administered by Faith Communities Today, an organization based in Hartford, Connecticut, and seek to resource leaders and interested parties by providing surveys and practical reports on congregations and congregational life in the United States. This piece was written in early 2024 and describes some results of the 2023 FACT survey. To participate in or learn more about the 2025 survey, you may comment on this essay or email Dr. Macaluso directly.
In 2000, a group of congregational researchers conducted the largest survey of congregations in the United States. They called it the Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey. Since the first study was completed, FACT has followed up with data collection in 2000, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The 2023 FACT survey is the latest in the series of national interfaith surveys. The Siburt Institute joined FACT as a faith group partner representing Churches of Christ. The 2023 FACT survey was collected especially to assess trends among congregations that have emerged since the last survey in 2020.
In the spring of 2023, emails were sent to Church of Christ congregations around the United States, asking congregational leaders to answer a series of questions about their congregations. In total, 117 usable surveys were collected. This article shares findings from this year's FACT study among Churches of Christ.
The surveyed churches vary significantly in size. The smallest congregation has seven regular attendees, while the largest has 1866 average attendees. The mean for regular attendance is just under 170 people per week, including in-person and online.
As we know, the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way that we “do” church. Many congregations offered some form of virtual worship. In 2019, only about 20% of congregations surveyed offered some form of online worship, while today, just over three quarters of the congregations surveyed hold online services. There are a variety of platforms that can be used to host online worship, the most popular being a video hosting platform such as YouTube or Vimeo, followed closely by social media and then conferencing platforms such as Zoom.
The survey also asked about the “clergy leader,” which generally refers to the senior minister in our tradition. Only 76 congregations provided information about their senior minister. Of the 76, 85% have a full-time minister. Nearly all congregations pay their minister. The average time a minister has been with the congregation is 13 years. Nearly all congregations (96%) report that their leader is a good or very good fit with the congregation.
When churches were sent the survey link, they were instructed to have a leader in the congregation complete the survey. For 49 of those congregations, a minister completed the survey. Ministers were asked three questions about their call to ministry and how frequently they have considered leaving ministry or their congregation. About two thirds of respondents have never doubted their call to ministry. However, more than half of the ministers have seriously considered leaving pastoral ministry at some point since the start of 2020. Interestingly, ministers were less likely to have seriously considered leaving their congregation.
In addition to questions about church demographics and leader characteristics, respondents were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statements: “Our congregation has a clear mission and purpose”; “Our congregation is good at incorporating new people into the congregation”; “Our congregation is spiritually vital and alive”; “Our congregation is willing to change to meet new challenges.” You can see the percentages of responses in these graphs:
We are also interested in the financial health of congregations. Respondents to the FACT survey were unlikely to consider themselves to be in some or serious difficulty (4.8%), and around a quarter (25.7%) of congregations say that their financial health is “tight, but we manage.” Most (69.5%) respondents report that their congregations' financial health is good or excellent.
In looking to the future, 83.8% of congregations feel somewhat positive or very positive about their congregations' future.
The FACT survey has the potential to provide us with the ability to compare the state of Churches of Christ over time. This fall, we are again partnering with FACT to collect data on church attendees. We seek churches willing to participate by distributing a survey link to their congregation, advertising it, and completing a corresponding congregational survey. All congregations that participate will receive a full report of the findings among Churches of Christ and their congregation.
The next FACT survey will be conducted in 2025. For more information on the overall FACT survey effort and details on the 2023 data collection, visit Faith Communities Today.
