Fewer pastors preach sermons under 40 minutes as appetite for longer messages grows

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, October 09, 2026

Protestant pastors in the U.S. say they've been preaching longer sermons over the last six years, and new data from Lifeway Research suggests churchgoers approve.

Lifeway researchers found that the share of pastors who say their standard sermons are less than 40 minutes fell from 85% in 2019 to 80% in 2025. The share of preachers who say their sermons are usually longer than one hour also tripled over the period, from 2% to 6%.

The survey of Protestant pastors, which included 1,003 respondents, was conducted by phone Sept. 2-24, 2025, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3%; while the survey of Protestant churchgoers, which recorded 1,200 respondents, was conducted online from Sept. 2-7, 2025, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%. Both were compared with similar Lifeway surveys from 2019.

Researchers found that several factors can influence the desired length of a pastor's sermon, such as congregation size, age, denomination, race and theology. They also found that the number of churchgoers who prefer a longer sermon than their pastor typically preaches had increased from 13% in 2019 to 17% in 2025. Overall, 56% of churchgoers prefer a length within the range their pastor typically preaches, while 25% want shorter sermons.

When asked, “How long is your typical sermon?” 31% of Protestant pastors said less than 20 minutes, 49% said 20 minutes to less than 40 minutes, 14% said 40 to less than 60 minutes, and 6% said more than 60 minutes.

When asked, "What is your preferred length for a typical sermon?" only 16% of churchgoers said sermons shorter than 20 minutes. More than half (51%), want sermons between 20 and less than 40 minutes. Another 10% prefer sermons of 40 to less than 50 minutes and 8% prefer 50 to less than 60 minutes, while 11% prefer typical sermons longer than one hour.

"While much of the individual video content Americans consume today takes less than a minute to watch, the majority of churchgoers prefer sermons of at least a half hour," said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, in the release.

“Seeing only the numbers on sermon length tells us more about the routines of pastors and churches than what might make the best sermon,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, as quoted in the report. “Churches across the U.S. have very different traditions when it comes to sermons. One church could fit two or three sermons into the time another pastor preaches.”

While black Americans and Hispanics were found to be more likely than white churchgoers to prefer sermons longer than one hour (17% vs. 10%), they were also more likely than whites to want shorter sermons than their pastors would typically deliver (34% of African Americans and 30% of Hispanics vs. 22% of white churchgoers). Churchgoers ages 18 to 29 are the most likely to want sermons of at least 50 minutes (30%), and the most likely to prefer shorter sermons than their pastor typically preaches (42%).

White pastors were most likely to preach 15 to less than 20 minutes, while black and Hispanic pastors were more likely than their white counterparts to say their sermons stretch beyond an hour.

Pastors at larger congregations typically preach longer sermons than pastors at smaller churches. Those at churches of 100 to 249 (31%) and 250 or more (39%) are the most likely to say their typical sermons last 30 to 40 minutes. Preachers at the smallest congregations, those with fewer than 50 in attendance (30%) and 50 to 99 (27%), are the most likely to preach for 15 to less than 20 minutes.

Two in three churchgoers (67%) say their pastors' sermons are less than 40 minutes, compared with 80% of pastors, though churchgoers' perception of sermon length is statistically unchanged since 2019.

“Overall, churchgoers tend to estimate sermons at their churches are longer than what pastors estimate,” said McConnell. “Some of the difference is explained by fewer churchgoers attending the small churches where short sermons of less than 20 minutes are most prevalent. But other churchgoers may only be remembering the exceptions when a sermon went long or are estimating how long the sermons feel.”