Fairlington United Methodist Church 2018 Worship Survey Results

General Information 114 survey respondents 41% attend 9:30am 13% aged 19-35 36% aged 65+ 18% aged 36-49 33% aged 50-64 30% have children at home 70% do not have children at home

Breakdown 114 respondents 9% of people have been attending for less than one year 10% of people have been attending for 1-3 years 15% of people have been attending for 3-10 years 66% of people have been attending for 10+ years

Attendance Length: Less than 3 years How are the new people at Fairlington the same and different from the general respondents? Attendance Length: Less than 3 years Attendance Length: More than 3 years 21 respondents that have been attending for less than 3 years 93 respondents that have been attending for more than 3 years Do you have children living at home? Yes 29% No 71% Do you have children living at home? Yes 30% No 70%

Music in Worship 80 67 50 59 54 41 Similar preferences between the 9:30 & 11:00am services Many differences based on age groups Just 11% of those attending less than a year prefer hand bells in comparison to over 40% for those attending 1-10 years and 57% for those attending 10+ years. Over 80% of those attending for 1-3 years prefer solos/small group ensembles compared to around 50% for all other lengths of attendance. Youth preferences are similar 92 When broken down by service time: No significant difference When broken down by age: Many differences between those aged 19-35 and the rest of the age groups When broken down by length of attendance: Small differences (hand bells, small group ensembles) Top Five: 1) Choir 2) Congregational singing 3) Organ/piano 4) Solos/small group ensembles 5) Hand Bells

Music in Worship When you think of music which of the following best help you feel God’s presence? Choir: just over 50% for those aged 19-35, vs 88%-92% for all other age groups Hand bells: under 10% for those aged 19-35 vs 48%-65% for all other age groups Organ/piano: 46% for those aged 19-35 vs over 60% for all other age groups

Leadership Styles 54 42 9:30am service 39% chose choir vs 65% at 11:00am service 9:30am service 84% chose single worship leader/cantor vs 71% at 11:00am service 77 When broken down by service time: Some differences – choir & single worship leader/cantor When broken down by age: Many differences between those aged 19-35 and the rest of the age groups When broken down by length of attendance: Those attending less than 3 years prefer single worship leader/cantor, while preference for choir increases with length of attendance

Leadership Styles Which leadership styles help you participate in worship? People aged 19-35 were split between single worship leader/cantor & small group worship service Preference for the choir increases with age (23% for 19-35, 47% for 36-49, 59% for 50-64, 65% for 65+)

Technology in Worship Almost 100% of youth also noted a desire for projection screen or TV monitors When broken down by service time: No notable differences When broken down by age: Within the 19-35 age group & 50-64 age group over 50% are in favor of projection screen or TV monitors When broken down by length of attendance: 100% of those attending less than 3 years noted a need for improving the sound system

Technology in Worship How could we better incorporate technology into the worship service?

Worship Elements Top Five: 4) Congregational participation 1) Sermon/teaching 2) Quiet time/meditation 5) Lighting candles/other symbolic acts 3) Lay witnesses

Worship Elements Which worship elements best help (or would help) you draw closer to God? When broken down by service time: Large differences in interest for dinner service – 16% at 9:30am, 41% at 11:00am Large differences in interest for drama – 20% at 9:30am, 41% at 11:00am When broken down by age: Dinner service is popular among the 19-35 age group at 43% Youth led worship is lower among 19-35 and 65+ Interest in drama is very low for aged 19-35, with 65+ following Outdoor worship is not popular among those aged 65+ Lighting candles/other symbolic acts are particularly popular in the mid-age range (36-64) When broken down by length of attendance: For those that have attended less than one year – congregational participation is important, while drama and youth-led worship is not Interest in drama increases alongside of length of attendance

Other Worship Times

Do you have children living at home? Other Worship Times Who are the people that are open to other worship times? 53 respondents 31 21 Do you have children living at home? Yes 21 No 32

Other Worship Times Weeknight Evening Saturday Evening Sunday Evening Do you have children living at home? Yes 7 No 17 Do you have children living at home? Yes 13 No 10 Do you have children living at home? Yes 14 No 11

Sunday School Attendees of the 11:00am service are more likely to opt for a change in the Sunday school hour than those who attend the 9:30am service. Many aged 19-35 & 65+ chose N/A. This may be indicative of those who are served in the current Sunday school model.