THE TOP 25 REASONS PEOPLE LEAVE CHURCH AND HOW TO FIX EVERY ONE- What Our Surveys Found, What the National Data Confirms, and What Your Church Can Do About It

This book started with anonymous surveys given to real people in real churches over years of workshops and conversations. No names. No judgment. Just blank paper and honest answers. These are the top Twenty-five reasons that came back. Not theories. Not opinions. The actual words of people who wanted to stay but could not find a reason to. Every reason comes with a specific, actionable path forward.

But this book goes where no other church book does. Beyond the top twenty-five reasons, you will find a complete survey system you can run yourself, the reasons nobody writes on the paper, volunteer burnout, the digital shift, the generational exodus, and a full framework for turning your church into a financially sustainable community hub: EV charging stations, facility rental, livestream revenue, whole-person workshops, and the untapped skills already sitting in your pews.

The data behind this book comes from Pew Research Center, which has surveyed millions of Americans over 35 years of continuous research, Barna Group, with over 40 years of faith and culture research, and Lifeway Research, combined with our own ground-level survey work across years of church workshops. The findings cross every denomination, every tradition, and every congregation size. If your organization has people who gather, people who serve, and people who could leave, this book is for you.

If the pews are getting emptier and nobody can tell you why, this is where the answers live.