Despite the unique pressures pastors routinely face, only 1.2% of evangelical and Black Protestant pastors leave the ministry each year, according to a 2025 Lifeway Research study.
U.S. Protestant churches are almost evenly split between those that have grown within the past two years and those that are plateaued or declining, according to an Exponential study by Lifeway Research.
The average Southern Baptist church calls the South home, but the only region of the country where those congregations are growing is the Northeast.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending during Holy Week, Lent serves as a time of preparation for the Easter celebration in many Christian traditions. The practice often involves the spiritual discipline of fasting.
A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors finds few hold or teach beliefs connected to the prosperity gospel.
Recent data from Lifeway Research provides valuable insights into the state of groups, leading to practical steps for fostering vibrant and healthy groups.
As pastors and church leaders think about ministering to their congregations and communities in 2025, they should keep these 10 trends in mind.
“As we’re preaching and teaching, it would be so much better if we knew our church members were reading and studying the Word of God on their own,” said Dwayne Milioni, pastor of Open Door Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In January, around 4,000 ministry leaders and volunteers will gather in Nashville, Tennessee, Houston and Fort Worth, Texas, and Ridgecrest, North Carolina, for Lifeway’s annual Vacation Bible School Preview events.
A Lifeway Research study finds U.S. adults are split on whether they’ll be at church sometime this Christmas — 47% say they typically attend church at Christmastime, while 48% say they do not, and 5% aren’t sure.
