A survey done for LifeWay Christian Resources reached an unmistakable conclusion. Evangelical Protestants, including Baptists, have no “brand loyalty” when it comes to choosing a church.
The survey, done by Ellison Research, found only 16 percent of Protestants would only consider attending a church of their current denomination if they were to relocate or were otherwise forced to change churches. It also found no significant differences between the responses of evangelicals and other Protestants.
That means only about one in six Alabama Baptist families would consider joining another Baptist church.
About half of Protestant respondents, or 51 percent, said they would prefer one denomination but also would consider others.
Thirty-three percent (one in three) said they had no preference of one denomination over another.
All of us know stories that demonstrate the accuracy of these findings. Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery is sometimes humorously referred to as “the largest Baptist church in Montgomery.” Many other well-known churches of other denominations in Alabama are dotted with former members of Alabama Baptist churches, too.
Likewise former members of churches of other denominations can be found on the membership rolls or at least among the regular participants of most Alabama Baptist churches. It is generally accepted as fact that people consider churches of denominations other than the one of their upbringing when changing churches. That is exactly what the survey found.
Still brand loyalty does exist among churchgoers. But the loyalty is not so much to the denomination as it is to core values and doctrines. Values and doctrines compose today’s brands. Research from two sources confirms this.
A study by Rainer Research found the two primary reasons unchurched people choose a church are pastor/preaching (90 percent) and doctrines (88 percent). Friendliness of members, a trait most would expect to be ranked high, was a distant third with 49 percent. Another study, conducted by The Barna Group, asked church attendees why they choose a church. The leading answer was doctrine/theology with 58 percent. People caring for each other was second with 53 percent, followed by preaching with 52 percent.
Obviously people care about the pastor’s preaching and doctrine taught by the church. A closer look at the Ellison survey illustrates this point. Sixty-seven percent (two out of three) of those who start looking for a new church begin by looking for one that bears the name of their current denomination. The reason? The expectation of common values and doctrines.
But evangelical Protestants have a problem that Roman Catholics do not have. The same survey found six out of 10 active Roman Catholics would only consider attending another Roman Catholic Church. One cannot continue in the Roman tradition without being part of the Roman Catholic Church.
Not so with evangelical Protestants. Several denominations share common commitments to similar values and doctrinal positions. But there is no guarantee that a common denominational name means common values and doctrines.
Baptists, for example, come in a sizable variety. There are more than 30 national Baptist bodies, and each has some doctrinal distinctive. Even among Baptists of the same national body, a variety of worship styles, preaching styles and doctrinal emphases exists.
When one considers other evangelicals, the list of possibilities expands. For instance, Frazer Memorial’s former senior minister, John Ed Mathison, was a frequent speaker at Alabama Baptist events, making him a familiar figure.
Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt has said if James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, wanted to join the church he serves as pastor, then he would be glad to welcome him into the membership even though Dobson comes from a different church background.
Hunt quickly adds Dobson is not likely to join First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., in suburban Atlanta, but the example illustrates the commonality formed by commitments to similar values and doctrinal positions. That commonality is often more important than the denominational name.
The importance of doctrines and core values can also be seen in the struggles going on in several Protestant denominations today. The Episcopal Church is fractured over differences on several doctrinal issues. These differences threaten to split the worldwide Anglican Communion of which it is a member. United Methodists and Presbyterians struggle with similar issues.
Once one has taken positions on important doctrinal and ethical issues, he or she is more likely to identify with a church holding similar positions than to identify with a church bearing the same denominational name but holding different positions on these issues.
This is one reason some churches have dropped denominational identity from their names. Instead of saying they are Baptist, Methodist or Pentecostal churches, such churches present themselves according to a core value. You have read their slogans — Where everybody is somebody, Where the Bible is preached, Hearts for the world, etc. Each statement conveys a different image of the congregation and its core value.
Evangelical churches have a challenging task. How do they differentiate themselves from all of the other churches that hold similar doctrinal and ethical positions? This is the same question facing businesses selling soap, soft drinks or any other product that has a lot of competitors.
The answer, of course, is to demonstrate the key elements that distinguish one from all the others. For a congregation, fellowship is important. Ministry involvement is important. Sunday School is important. Preaching is important. But so is the doctrine of the church. Doctrines and core values — that is how brand loyalty is defined today by a growing number of churchgoers.
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