We’re taking a closer look back at our Unstuck Church Report from Q1. Hear from Blue Van Dyke, President and Founder of StudioC, on current trends around engagement in the local church and how to make sure it’s actually working.
The findings in this quarter’s report highlight both an urgent challenge and a tremendous opportunity for church leaders to grow in a healthy way. Let me share three tactical insights we’ve learned from working with growing churches:
Data Point: #1
Many churches lack efficient digital tools for tracking and engagement. For the churches who participated, 42% indicated their digital tools do not currently empower them to track and increase engagement across all ministries. That percentage increases to 49% for churches under 200 in average attendance and decreases for larger churches. In churches over 1,000 in average attendance, 32% indicated their digital tools are currently inadequate.
While larger churches often have more resources to invest in digital tools, it’s critical that churches of every size have access to technology that helps them engage their people effectively. The fact that nearly half of smaller churches lack adequate digital tools isn’t just a technology problem – it’s a discipleship challenge. When churches can’t effectively track and increase engagement, they miss crucial opportunities to guide people in their faith journey.
Churches shouldn’t have to replace their entire tech stack or be locked into enterprise solutions they don’t need. Instead, they need tools that can work with their existing systems to normalize data and deliver personalized engagement, regardless of church size. This has been a game-changer for churches like Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene, who found that better data and engagement tools actually helped them pastor people more effectively.
Data Point: #2
Of all churches surveyed, 44% indicated they believe their members have a clear understanding of where they are on the church’s discipleship path. Interestingly, we found a correlation between more decisions to follow Jesus and clarity about the discipleship path: Only about a third of the churches seeing *5% or less *of their attendance making decisions to follow Jesus said their members had a clear understanding of where they are on the church’s discipleship path. In churches seeing more than 5% of attendance making decisions to follow Jesus, nearly 60% did.
The correlation between discipleship clarity and evangelism effectiveness revealed in this data isn’t just interesting – it’s transformative. When people clearly understand their own spiritual journey, they become more effective at inviting others along that path. We’ve seen this firsthand with churches like Church of the Highlands, where making their discipleship pathway crystal clear and personally relevant led to over 7,800 previously inactive members reengaging.
Think of it like a GPS – people are far more likely to invite others on a journey when they can confidently explain both where they are and where they’re heading. That’s why the most effective churches aren’t just focused on creating clear pathways, but on delivering personalized guidance that helps each person understand and own their next step. When churches can do this consistently, both discipleship and evangelism thrive naturally.
Data Point #3
Of all churches surveyed, 65% indicated that they have the necessary tools to simply and quickly run meaningful reports, analyze the data and turn it into actionable insights for making ministry decisions in real time.
A). While it’s encouraging that 65% of churches feel equipped to analyze their data, the real question is whether they’re turning those insights into meaningful engagement. In our experience working with churches like Rock City and Church of the Highlands, the difference between having data and effectively using it to drive engagement is significant.
The most effective churches aren’t just running reports – they’re using data to inform how they personally engage with each person in real-time. When Church of the Highlands shifted from general reporting to targeted engagement, they discovered they could move from what were once “dream category” goals to actually “knowing the one” and delivering exactly what each person needs in their spiritual journey.
This isn’t just about better analytics – it’s about turning information into transformation.
The key is having tools that don’t just tell you what happened, but help you take action on what should happen next. That’s when churches see real movement in both discipleship and evangelism.
B). Let’s talk about the 35% who don’t have the tools for data analysis – because this represents a critical opportunity. Many churches are sitting on rich information in their various systems but lack the ability to turn that data into actionable engagement strategies.
We see this challenge regularly in our work with churches of all sizes. Before partnering with StudioC, Rock City Church had plenty of data but struggled to use it effectively for personalized ministry. As their Executive Director Katie Fisher notes, “The more we know about someone, the better we can pastor them, the better we can love them, the better we can lead them.”
Having information isn’t the same as having insights you can act on. Today’s churches don’t need more data – they need better ways and tools to use the data they already have to guide people in their next steps. When churches can bridge this gap, they unlock the ability to engage each person personally and meaningfully in their faith journey.
