A couple years ago when I served as Director of Discipleship & Assimilation at the Kentucky Baptist Convention , I hosted Dr. Gary McIntosh for a conference that discussed assimilation principles taken from his book, Beyond the First Visit. Fortunately, while he was with us, Dr. McIntosh unveiled the findings of a recent national survey he conducted.
I knew that the pastor played an important role in reaching and keeping people in a local church, but I was somewhat surprised by the overwhelming importance of the pastor’s preaching. Consider these findings from the study:
- 90% of respondents said that the pastor’s preaching influenced their decision to attend a particular church.
- When asked to rank the order of reasons why they chose to attend their church, the preaching of the pastor ranked #1.
To examine the specifics of the pastor’s role, the survey asked, “What factors of the pastor’s ministry influenced your choice of this church?” Here are their responses listed in the order of their ranking:
- Preaching that teaches and applies to my life.
- Authenticity of the pastor.
- Pastor’s convictions.
- Pastor’s leadership skills.
This study confirmed what most of us already suspected–the pastor must play a pivotal role if a local church is to experience genuine growth. Somewhat surprising was the overwhelming importance of preaching.
#1 by Bill on March 9, 2010 - 11:58 pm
That was a wonderful conference. I was blessed to be present. Awesome post!
#2 by Greg Jacobs on March 12, 2010 - 5:31 pm
I couldn’t agree more with the importance of the pastor. I am so thankful that you are submissive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as the Shepherd of the Flock. Keep it up Brother…