National Back to Church Sunday sees 7.5 million invites

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — On Sept. 16, in the largest grassroots movement of its kind, 13,152 congregations of various denominations, styles and theologies united in a single cause to invite an estimated 7.5 million people to attend church on National Back to Church Sunday. Participating churches saw an estimated 38 percent increase in their attendance. Four days prior to the event, 59 churches in Alabama had registered. About 25 of the 59 indicated they were Baptist.

The movement is based on the simple principle that 82 percent of people say they would come to church if invited by a friend, according to Thom Rainer’s book, “The Unchurched Next Door.”  Yet from a recent LifeWay Research study, only 48 percent of church members invited their unchurched friends to church in the last six months.

The number of churches participating doubled from 3,800 churches in 2010 to 7,600 churches in 2011 and skyrocketed to a total of 13,152 churches this year. With a 38 percent increase in average attendance, 97 percent of responding pastors said they will participate in National Back to Church Sunday next year.

The next National Back to Church Sunday is Sept. 15, 2013. Churches are already registering at backtochurch.com/roster. Reports of this year and future plans are being posted at www.facebook.com/backtochurch.