Ethnic Group Responses to Church Outreach Methods

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Ethnic Group Responses to Church Outreach Methods
Study conducted for
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Methodology Sampling

• The sample for the study is a national, random,
  stratified sample of Americans using a
  demographically balanced online panel.
• The survey was administered via an internet
  survey interface between December 12, 2008 and
  December 22, 2008.
• With a total of more than 15,000 responses, the
  sample provides 99 confidence that the total
  sampling error does not exceed 1.

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Willingness to receive information from a local
congregation or faith community through the
following methods
4
Willingness to receive information through
personal conversation with a friend or neighbor
from the church
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 29 24 14 30
27 Somewhat Unwilling 16 19 12 19 16 Somewha
t Willing 34 34 36 32 35 Very
Willing 20 23 37 19 21
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
5
Willingness to receive information through
visit to your door by a member of that church or
faith community
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 58 53 37 54
56 Somewhat Unwilling 21 22 24 24 20 Somewha
t Willing 15 18 26 16 16 Very Willing
6 7 13 6 8
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
6
Willingness to receive information through
personal conversation from a family member
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 25 21 12 23
24 Somewhat Unwilling 14 15
9 15 15 Somewhat Willing 37 39 38 38 35 Ve
ry Willing 24 25 42 24 26
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
7
Willingness to receive information through TV
commercial
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 39 36 21 39
36 Somewhat Unwilling 24 21 20 24 26 Somewha
t Willing 28 32 39 29 29 Very
Willing 10 11 21 9 9
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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Willingness to receive information through
Radio commercial
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 39 35 21 42
35 Somewhat Unwilling 23 20 19 21 24 Somewha
t Willing 28 34 39 28 32 Very
Willing 10 11 21 9 9
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
9
Willingness to receive information through
newspaper or magazine ad
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 36 32 20 33
32 Somewhat Unwilling 21 22 19 24 24 Somewha
t Willing 32 33 40 33 34 Very
Willing 12 12 21 10 10
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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Willingness to receive information through
informative ad in the newspaper
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 34 31 19 36
32 Somewhat Unwilling 19 22 19 20 22 Somewha
t Willing 34 34 41 34 35 Very
Willing 13 12 22 10 10
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
11
Willingness to receive information through
email message
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 48 40 26 45
46 Somewhat Unwilling 21 23 21 23 17 Somewha
t Willing 22 26 34 21 28 Very Willing
9 12 19 11 9
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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Willingness to receive information through
website listing or ad
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 40 36 24 39
36 Somewhat Unwilling 22 23 19 22 24 Somewha
t Willing 28 30 37 27 31 Very
Willing 10 11 20 12 9
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
13
Willingness to receive information through
outdoor sign or billboard
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 35 32 20 35
33 Somewhat Unwilling 21 20 19 23 24 Somewha
t Willing 32 35 39 29 31 Very
Willing 12 13 22 13 12
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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Willingness to receive information through door
hanger left on your door by someone from the
church
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 47 40 24 47
46 Somewhat Unwilling 22 24 21 25 18 Somewha
t Willing 24 27 38 21 29 Very Willing
7 10 17 7 7
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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Willingness to receive information through
letter in your mailbox
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 38 32 20 39
37 Somewhat Unwilling 19 20 18 23 18 Somewha
t Willing 31 33 39 26 32 Very
Willing 12 15 23 12 13
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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Willingness to receive information through
social networking website
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Unwilling 44 37 27 42
37 Somewhat Unwilling 24 26 23 24 27 Somewha
t Willing 25 28 35 27 29 Very Willing
7 10 15 7 7
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and inform you of what they have to
offer, how willing would you be to receive
information through each of the following methods?
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How effective Americans think each method would
be in getting them to visit a local congregation
or faith community
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Effectiveness of an invitation via personal
invitation from a friend or neighbor from the
church
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 26 20 11 25
24 Somewhat Ineffective 13 16
9 14 14 Somewhat Effective 37 35 38 35 38
Very Effective 24 29 41 26 24
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness of an invitation via visit to
your door by a member of that church or faith
community
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 51 44 29 46
49 Somewhat Ineffective 21 22
20 25 20 Somewhat Effective 21 23 34 21 21
Very Effective 8 11 17 9 10
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness of an invitation via personal
invitation from a family member
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 23 19 10 22
21 Somewhat Ineffective 12 12
7 12 13 Somewhat Effective 37 37 36 39 37
Very Effective 28 32 46 28 29
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness of an invitation via TV commercial
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 42 37 21 40
43 Somewhat Ineffective 27 25
23 28 26 Somewhat Effective 26 31 42 24 28
Very Effective 4 7 14 8 4
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
22
Effectiveness of an invitation via Radio
commercial
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 43 37 22 41
43 Somewhat Ineffective 28 26
22 28 24 Somewhat Effective 26 30 42 25 29
Very Effective 4 7 14 6 4
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness of an invitation via newspaper or
magazine ad
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 41 37 21 37
42 Somewhat Ineffective 27 25
26 26 24 Somewhat Effective 28 31 39 29 30
Very Effective 5 8 13 8 4
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness of an invitation via worship ad
in the weekly religion section of the newspaper
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 39 34 22 36
43 Somewhat Ineffective 24 23
21 27 21 Somewhat Effective 31 31 39 27 31
Very Effective 6 11 18 10 6
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness of an invitation via email message
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 49 43 27 41
47 Somewhat Ineffective 24 23
22 27 25 Somewhat Effective 22 25 35 21 23
Very Effective 5 9 16 10 6
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
26
Effectiveness of an invitation via website
listing or ad
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 45 40 25 37
43 Somewhat Ineffective 26 25
27 29 26 Somewhat Effective 24 28 34 26 25
Very Effective 5 7 14 8 6
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
27
Effectiveness of an invitation via outdoor sign
or billboard
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 40 35 21 37
40 Somewhat Ineffective 25 23
22 27 24 Somewhat Effective 30 35 40 27 30
Very Effective 5 7 16 9 6
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
28
Effectiveness of an invitation via door hanger
left on your door by someone from the church
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 48 39 24 46
47 Somewhat Ineffective 23 23
21 26 20 Somewhat Effective 25 30 40 21 27
Very Effective 5 9 15 7 6
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
29
Effectiveness of an invitation via letter in
your mailbox
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 41 33 22 36
40 Somewhat Ineffective 21 23
19 25 22 Somewhat Effective 30 33 42 26 31
Very Effective 8 12 17 13 8
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
30
Effectiveness of an invitation via social
networking website
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Very Ineffective 46 39 25 38
44 Somewhat Ineffective 26 24
27 26 25 Somewhat Effective 24 30 34 26 24
Very Effective 4 7 14 11 7
If a local congregation or faith community wanted
to reach out and invite you to attend, they might
use one of the following methods. Please rate
how effective you think each method would be in
getting you (or others) to visit.
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Effectiveness if you knew the invitation was from
the following type of church
More/Less White African- Mixed/ Effective Non-
Hispanic Hispanic American Asian Other Less 45 3
1 48 36 42 Roman Catholic Same
42 37 45 49 44 More 14 32
7 15 14 Less 44 51 19 41 40 Southern
Baptist Same 46 42 54 51 51 More 10
7 28 8 9 Less 40 54 44 41 44 Luther
an Same 52 43 53 54 50 More 8 3
4 6 6 Less 36 53 31 38 42 Methodist
Same 56 42 59 56 52 More 9 4 10
6 6
Considering your responses to the methods used by
a local congregation or faith community in the
previous question, would the invitation be more
effective, less effective or about the same if
you knew the invitation was from one of the
following types of churches
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Effectiveness if you knew the invitation was from
the following type of church continued
More/Less White African- Mixed/ Effective Non-
Hispanic Hispanic American Asian Other Less 68 7
0 61 57 62 Mormon Same 30 28 37 38 35
More 2 3 2 5 3 Less 52 54 35
47 47 Pentecostal Same 43 40 54 49 47
More 5 7 11 4 7 Non- Less 30 44 2
1 36 32 denominational Same
50 41 53 50 46 More 19 15 26 14 23
Considering your responses to the methods used by
a local congregation or faith community in the
previous question, would the invitation be more
effective, less effective or about the same if
you knew the invitation was from one of the
following types of churches
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Times you have been more open to considering
matters of faith
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic A
merican Asian Other During the Christmas holiday
season 47 49 50 43 37 During the
Easterholiday season 39 38 44 27 30 After a
major national crisis such as 9/11 37 41 46 35
35 After a natural disaster
31 38 45 39 32
Have you been more open to considering matters of
faith during any of the following times in your
life?
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Times you have been more open to considering
matters of faith continued
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic A
merican Asian Other After the birth of a
baby 26 34 31 24 29 At the start of a war
or intl tension 24 26 32 23 24 During an
economic downturn 20 28 39 25 21 During the
Fall/ back-to-school season 10 12 21
11 11 During the Summer holiday
season 10 12 21 11 11
Have you been more open to considering matters of
faith during any of the following times in your
life?
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Americans responses to specific approaches
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If a local church gave me a video to watch on my
own that showed what their church services were
like and what they believed, I would watch it.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 37 31 17 3
3 34 Somewhat Disagree 20 21 18 24 21 Somew
hat Agree 34 36 45 36 34 Strongly Agree
9 12 21 7 12
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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I would click on a local churchs website if it
appeared among links in a Google search I
conducted online.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 42 38 23 4
1 39 Somewhat Disagree 23 25 27 25 24 Somew
hat Agree 29 30 38 29 30 Strongly Agree
7 7 13 5 7
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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I would click on a religious advertisement if it
appeared among links in a Google search I
conducted.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 48 44 27 4
7 46 Somewhat Disagree 28 28 30 30 29 Somew
hat Agree 20 24 33 19 20 Strongly Agree
4 5 10 4 5
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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I would view a religious video if it appeared
among links in a Google or YouTube search I
conducted online.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 48 40 26 4
5 41 Somewhat Disagree 28 27 28 24 29 Somew
hat Agree 21 26 34 25 24 Strongly Agree
4 7 12 7 6
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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If I received a postcard from a church
advertising upcoming talks on topics that
mattered to me, I might visit.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 32 29 16 3
4 32 Somewhat Disagree 18 19 16 20 21 Somew
hat Agree 41 42 51 38 38 Strongly Agree
9 11 18 8 9
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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If I saw an ad with interesting information
about matters of faith that also listed a
website, I would visit the website.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 36 31 17 3
5 35 Somewhat Disagree 22 22 19 23 20 Somew
hat Agree 34 35 46 35 36 Strongly Agree
8 12 18 8 9
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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If I saw an ad with interesting information
about matters of faith that listed an 800 number
to request information by mail, I would call the
800 number.
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic Am
erican Asian Other Strongly Disagree 57 49 34 5
2 55 Somewhat Disagree 29 31 32 24 26 Somew
hat Agree 13 18 26 19 15 Strongly Agree
2 3 9 4 4
For each statement below, please indicate your
level of agreement.
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First response, if you wanted to find out more
about God
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic A
merican Asian Other Read a Bible 31 36 50 24 3
3 Attend a church service 19 25 19 14 14 No
ne of the above 16 10 5 18 14 Talk to a
Christian friend 10 7 5 16 10 Talk to
a Christianfamily member 9 8 10
8 10 Do a key word searchon the Internet for
info 5 5 2 8 8
If you wanted to find out more about God, what
would be your first response? (Select One)
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First response, if you wanted to find out more
about God continued
White African- Mixed/ Non-Hispanic Hispanic A
merican Asian Other Read a book that tellsme
about the Bible 4 4 4 5 4 I
wouldnt know where to start 3 3 2
4 5 Watch a preacher or worship service on
TV 1 2 2 2 1 Explore the
websiteof a local church 1 2 0 1
1 Ask questions in an anonymous chat room/
online community 0 0 1 1 0
If you wanted to find out more about God, what
would be your first response? (Select One)
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Ethnic Group Responses to Church Outreach Methods
Study conducted for