Reveal Report - Part One

Last winter our church was one of 420 churches who participated in the REVEAL survey put out by the Willow Creek Association. Over 118,000 people nationwide participated. We had 355 adults from Grace Church (or about 27% of our congregation) take the survey online. The next three day's blogs will highlight some of the results and some of the key “take away” points we learned as a result.

Of the 355 who took the survey, 11% were between the ages of 19-29; 49% were between the ages of 30-49; and 40% were age 50 or older.

We obviously do not have a very diverse church as only 3% of those who took the survey categorized themselves as “non-white.” This is more than 50% lower than the average of the total sample of 420 churches.

46% of those who took the survey had children under the age of 18 living at home. Note how important our children and youth ministries are as a result of this fact.

41% of those surveyed from Grace had a college degree or higher and 59% were employed full-time. 39% of those surveyed had an average yearly income of $75K or more.

45% of those who took the survey have attended Grace Church five years or less. While 55% have been attending Grace for more than 5 years, 45% of all who took the survey have been attending Grace for more than 10 years.

So what was happening in these people’s lives when faith began to become important to them? The top answers were as follows (remember that more than one answer could be selected on the survey):

41% said that something was missing in their life
36% said that there were negative patterns in their life that needed changed
33% said they were inspired by a Christian they knew
30% said they were challenged by someone about their spiritual life
29% said they were searching for a higher purpose
28% said they had an unexplained interest in God

What was the most important reason that people chose Grace Church? According to the survey, 26% said they were looking for a church that best fit them while 25% said that a friend or relative invited them to church. Did you get that? 1 out of every 4 people who chose Grace Church did so because someone they knew invited them. So, who are you going to invite to our Ghostbusters series in October? By the way, 13% said they chose Grace Church because of our children’s/youth ministries. So, if you know someone who is not attending Grace, especially if they have kids or teens, be sure to invite them!