You have likely heard a variety of claims about the state of the church in America today. It’s easy to repeat dour or sensational headlines. But what do the polls and statistics actually tell us? We can glean some interesting insights from Church Trac’s “The State of Church Attendance: Trends and Statistics [2025]” article.
1. Regular church attendance is dropping.
While 65% of Americans identify as Christian, regular church attendance is declining. Just 20% of Americans attend church every week; for Americans who attend church once a month or more, the number jumps to 41%.
These statistics present a real opportunity. There are plenty of people who have a friendly disposition toward Christianity but have not found a faith community that they are committed to. It is likely that many of them intend on getting back into church, but they have allowed life to get in the way.
2. Growth is still occurring in some congregations.
While it is true that regular church attendance is in decline across the board in the United States, nondenominational churches saw significant growth from 2010 to 2020. The US Religion Census reported that over 4,000 new nondenominational churches opened in that decade, resulting in 6.5 million more people in attendance.
While church attendance declined sharply in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, today, small churches (congregations with fewer than fifty in attendance each week) report having returned to 90–100% of pre-pandemic attendance. Smaller churches have rebounded more robustly than larger churches.
In addition, millennials report higher weekly church attendance than before the pandemic; in 2019, 21% of millennials attended church every week, and in 2022 that number had risen to 39%.
These statistics can encourage us that with smart, intentional strategies in place, churches can grow.
3. Practicing what we preach still matters.
According to a 2018 Missional Marketing survey, non-churchgoing Gen Zers are interested in the following:
- Churches that help the poor: 77.7%
- Churches that address mental health: 73.6%
- Churches that are involved in the community: 71.5%
- Churches that provide opportunities to help others: 69.2%
It is heartening to see that when it comes to choosing a church, young people are interested in seeing faith lived out. They find great value in faith practices that impact their daily lives and in churches that are making a difference in their community and the world around them.
The people behind the trends.
The church’s commission is the same as it has ever been: to make disciples. Paying attention to trends in the American church is really about paying attention to the people we seek to minister to. When we know more about the lost ones we are seeking, we can adjust to more effectively connect with them.
