One-third of All Evangelical Churches Offer Multiple Worship Services

See the LifeWay Research chart on Worship Services.

The majority of churches (65%) still have a single worship service on Sunday mornings. LifeWay Research intentionally excluded traditional Sunday evening or Wednesday evening services from this question to get a clear picture of the trend toward multiple services offered at various times. Today 32% of all evangelical, protestant churches offer more than one “primary” worship service.

For years churches have added a second Sunday morning worship service as they have run out of seats at the original single service. In fact, 22% of all churches offer more than one Sunday morning worship service.

In addition to providing more space, many churches are responding to the reality that many church members have come to expect service time options for worship to fit their lifestyle preferences.

The desire for options has spilled beyond Sunday morning. 13% of all evangelical Protestant churches now offer primary worship services at times other than Sunday morning. 3% of all evangelical churches schedule their only primary worship service at a time other than Sunday morning. Churches recognize that the worship service is a “front door” for seekers and those who move to their community. Additional service times are a practical way to reach more people.

Some leaders have expressed concern that offering worship at times other than Sunday morning is merely an accommodation to an unhealthy consumer mentality. Others recognize that as culture has changed, offering worship at alternative times is necessary.

Representative sample of 1,869 evangelical, Protestant churches gathered in July and August 2005. Sample has a margin of error of +2.3% at the 95% confidence interval.