More pastors are preaching longer sermons, and most churchgoers are OK with it. In fact, a small but growing number would prefer even more each week.
A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors and churchgoers finds little disagreement between the pulpit and the pews over sermon length, even as pastors stretch out their weekly messages.
“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.
Pastoral perceptions
Four in 5 Protestant pastors (80%) say their sermons are less than 40 minutes. Around half (52%) say their sermon could be finished in the time it takes someone to watch a 30-minute sitcom, including 10% who preach less than 15 minutes, 21% in 15 to less than 20 minutes and 21% in 20 to less than 30 minutes. A plurality (28%) delivers messages that last between 30 to less than 40 minutes.
A few pastors push past that length, including 11% who preach 40 to less than 50 minutes, 3% whose typical sermons are 50 minutes to less than an hour and 6% who stay in the pulpit for at least an hour. Less than 1% of pastors aren’t sure how long they preach.
“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 McConnell. “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.”
Overall, pastors say they are preaching longer. Compared to a 2019 Lifeway Research study, fewer pastors mark their standard sermons as less than 40 minutes (80% v. 85%).
Specifically, within the past decade, the percentage of preachers who top an hour behind the pulpit has tripled (2% in 2019 v. 6% now).
Theology, denominational identity, ethnicity and church size are often linked to sermon length. Mainline pastors are more likely than evangelical ones to say their sermons are under 20 minutes (49% v. 15%), while evangelical pastors are more likely to have sermons between 30 and 50 minutes (53% v. 24%).
Lutheran pastors (27%) are the most likely to say their sermons are less than 15 minutes. Lutheran (51%), Methodist (45%) and Presbyterian/Reformed pastors (31%) are among the most likely to preach 15 to less than 20 minutes. Methodists (33%) and Presbyterian/Reformed pastors (29%) are among the most likely to deliver sermons lasting 20 to less than 30 minutes.
Baptists (50%) and Holiness preachers (49%) are among the most likely to say their typical sermon is 30 to less than 40 minutes. Non-denominational (28%) and Pentecostal pastors (22%) are among the most likely to preach 40 to less than 50 minutes.
White pastors (23%) are most likely to preach between 15 and less than 20 minutes. African American (16%) and Hispanic pastors (14%) are more likely than their white counterparts (4%) to say their sermons stretch beyond an hour.
Preachers at the smallest congregations, those with fewer than 50 in attendance (30%) and 50-99 (27%), are the most likely to preach for 15 to less than 20 minutes. Pastors at churches of 100-249 (31%) and 250 or more (39%) are the most likely to say their typical sermons are 30 to 40 minutes.
Churchgoers’ experience
Despite the average pastor and churchgoer having different contexts, their perspectives share much in common.
Two in 3 U.S. Protestant churchgoers (67%) say their pastors’ sermons are less than 40 minutes. Half (51%) attend churches where the sermons average between 20 and less than 40 minutes. Just 2% of churchgoers are part of a congregation where sermons are shorter than 15 minutes.
A third say their pastors preach 40 minutes or more, including 12% who say it’s between 40 to less than 50 minutes, 9% between 50 to less than 60 minutes and 12% who attend a church with hour plus sermons. Less than 1% aren’t sure the length of their pastors’ sermons.
Despite pastors saying they’re preaching longer on average, churchgoers’ perception of the 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.”
African American (22%) and Hispanic churchgoers (20%) are far more likely than white churchgoers (9%) and those of other ethnicities (8%) to say their pastor preaches for at least an hour.
The perception of Lutheran churchgoers matches their pastors’. Almost half (47%) say their preachers’ sermons typically last less than 20 minutes.
Those attending a church of at least 500 (5%) are the least likely to say their pastor typically preaches less than 20 minutes.
Churchgoers’ preferences
When asked their sermon-length preference, most churchgoers (56%) end up within the range they say their pastor preaches. A quarter (25%) want shorter sermons, but 17% prefer a longer sermon than their pastor typically preaches. The percentage of those who would like their pastor to preach longer has grown since 2019 — 13% to 17%.
Specifically, 41% say their preferred sermon length is less than 30 minutes, but just 3% want their pastor to preach less than 15 minutes. Almost 1 in 8 (13%) would like a sermon of 15 to less than 20 minutes. A quarter (25%) prefer 20 to less than 30-minute sermons. The ideal range for a similar percentage of churchgoers (26%) is 30 to less than 40 minutes.
Almost 1 in 3 (30%) want longer sermons, including 10% who prefer messages in the 40 to less than 50-minute range, 8% between 50 minutes and less than an hour and 11% who say the pastor should preach for at least an hour. Another 3% are unsure how long they’d prefer.
“If there was only one preferred sermon length, then we would see discontent among churchgoers both above and below that timing. We don’t see that,” said McConnell. “Churchgoers, like their pastors, have different preferences, often influenced by what they have experienced.”
African Americans and Hispanics (17%) are more likely than white churchgoers (10%) to prefer sermons longer than an hour. Yet, African Americans (34%) and Hispanics (30%) are more likely than white churchgoers (22%) to want sermons shorter than their pastors’ normal messages.
Churchgoers 65 and older are most likely to be content with the current sermon length (68%), while younger churchgoers seem more conflicted.
Those 18-29 are the most likely to say they want a sermon of at least 50 minutes (30%) and to say their pastor preaches at least an hour (28%). But they are also most likely to prefer shorter sermons than their pastor typically preaches (42%).
For more information, view the complete pastors’ report and churchgoers’ report and visit LifewayResearch.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Aaron Earls and originally published by Lifeway Research.
