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Churchgoers are placing more emphasis on "family time" at the expense of involvement in church life, a recent survey found.
In a survey of 490 pastors, Leadership Journal, a magazine published by Christianity Today, found 76 percent of respondents said people are spending more discretionary time on family activities than church commitments. And most believe that a generation ago, free time was more likely spent on church life.
The survey further found that 83 percent of pastors said they are aware of situations where people choose family time over church commitments. Frequently heard reasons for missing out on church activities include kids' activities and weekend trips; such sports as fishing, football and NASCAR; extended family gatherings; and a child's illness.
Only 13 percent of pastors said those reasons are "mostly valid" while 22 percent said they are "mostly excuses." The majority (65 percent) believes they are "some of both."
Although most pastors say church is taking a back seat to family time, only 3 percent said church time was encroaching on family life for their church members. And 36 percent said most church members have a good balance of family and church times.
Still, 61 percent of pastors said the bigger problem is family time trumping church time.
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Some pastors, however, believe churches are segregating families in the church with adults in one room, teens in another and toddlers in a third room.
"When 'church time' is seen as a competitor to 'family time,' something is wrong at church," said the Rev. R. Albert Mohler, a leading evangelical leader and president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in his blog. "When family members hardly see each other at church activities, the congregation needs to take a quick inventory of its concept of ministry."
"At the same time, when Christian parents take their kids to Little League games rather than worship on the Lord's Day, these parents teach their children that team sports are more important than the worship of God," he added.
At a time when 43 percent of the U.S. adult population is single, according to the magazine, family ministry in the church can be difficult.
The survey showed that pastors believe their churches are most likely to embrace married couples with no children, with 70 percent saying they do so "extremely" or "very well." And 45 percent do "not very well" or "not well at all" include singles up to age 40.
Reaching nontraditional households - special needs families, multi-ethnic families and single-parent families - is also a struggle for churches, except for congregations that are over 500 in worship attendance and have ministries specifically targeting the groups.
Other findings include how pastors measured four segments in their lives based on hours, interest, value and fulfillment. Based on a distribution of 100 points, pastors placed the largest value on church (51), then family (28), alone time (12), and finally interests beyond church and family (11). The study added that one third of pastors said they would assign more value to family if they were to redistribute the points.
