Over the last few weeks, I've written about the upward trend in engagement among members of U.S. congregations, and some of the leading factors that have contributed to that trend. While increased engagement itself is cause for encouragement among congregation leaders, the real test of the efficacy of that engagement is its influence on the outcomes that best gauge a congregation's spiritual health.
Â鶹´«Ã½AV research has identified four outcomes that are clear indicators of spiritual health among congregation members: life satisfaction, serving in the community, inviting others to congregation events, and financial giving. Â鶹´«Ã½AV's 2004 congregational engagement survey* indicates improved engagement scores have had a noticeable effect on three of the four.
Life Satisfaction
Congregation members who are engaged in their faith communities have a higher degree of life satisfaction than those who are not engaged or actively disengaged. Engaged members are more than twice as likely as those who are actively disengaged, and nearly half again as likely as those who are not engaged, to be completely satisfied with their lives. This does not mean engaged members' lives are somehow easier or less complicated than disengaged members' lives. Rather, the difference is that engaged members appear to gain strength and satisfaction from being strongly connected to their faith communities.
In 2001, 55% of engaged members "strongly agreed" with the statement, "I am completely satisfied with my life"; that percentage grew to 63% in 2004. The percentage of "not engaged" members who are completely satisfied with their lives grew more modestly from 38% in 2001 to 43% in 2004. Only 25% of actively disengaged members are completely satisfied with their lives -- that percentage has held steady in three out of the last four years.
Inviting
Engaged members always have their faith communities at the forefront of their thinking. This is evident in Â鶹´«Ã½AV's data on who invites others to congregation events: engaged members have consistently invited others at a rate of 2½ to 12 times greater than those who are not engaged or actively disengaged.
In 2001, 64% of engaged members strongly agreed with the statement, "In the last month, I have invited someone to participate in my congregation." That percentage increased to 67% in 2004. By comparison, only 26% of not engaged members and 8% of actively disengaged members strongly agreed with this statement in the most recent survey, little changed from 2001.
Financial Contributions
Engaged members give more money to their congregations than members who are not engaged or actively disengaged -- up to three times more. The significant monetary contributions of engaged members help ensure that the mission and ministry of their congregations move forward.
In 2001, engaged members gave a median value of $2,145 annually to their congregations. In the sluggish economy of 2002 and 2003, actual dollars given declined as well; yet giving as a percentage of income remained the same. In 2004, median giving among engaged members rose to $2,165, and giving as a percentage of median income (based on the current $43,300 median household income in the United States) also rose.
Median giving among members who are not engaged started at $1,250 in 2001 and rose slightly to $1,299 in 2004. Actively disengaged members' giving stood at a median of $750 annually in 2001, dropped to $626 in 2002, and has inched up to $650 in 2004.
Volunteering
The median number of hours per week that congregation members volunteer has remained essentially the same since Â鶹´«Ã½AV began this survey four years ago. According to the 2004 survey, engaged members serve others in their communities for a median of two hours per week, members who are not engaged give one hour per week, and actively disengaged members give a median of zero hours per week. While there has been little change in these data, they still indicate a strong relationship between engagement and service to one's community.
Bottom Line
Congregation leaders who invest their time and energy to improve the level of engagement in their congregations are seeing positive results. The progress shown in the outcomes described reflect an improved state of spiritual health in American congregations, and healthy congregations play a role in creating a more positive society.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,000 adult members of a church, synagogue, or other religious faith community, aged 18 and older, and 500 nonmembers, conducted in October 2004. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±2.6 percentage points.