Measurement of “Warm and Friendly Encounters” in new survey can help parishes evangelize more effectively during Advent and beyond
Florence, SC, November 6, 2024 — With overall trends showing lower numbers of Mass attendees, Catholic parishes seek to better understand how to improve their outreach strategies, particularly leading up to Christmas, one of two times of the year when Americans are most likely to attend church. ACS Technologies, a 45-year leader in church management software, market expertise, and data analysis, gleaned key insights from a recent survey aimed at further investigating why self-identifying Catholics consider “warm and friendly encounters” to be highly important when visiting a new parish.
ACS Technologies examined the theological beliefs of 15,000 Americans with their ground-breaking American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices, originally conducted in 2013 and then repeated in 2017 and 2021. Distilled into a series of nine unique reports, valuable insights revealed changing behaviors and social and moral attitudes and trends within communities of faith. Data in these reports, namely with regard to the question, “What do you look for when searching for a new parish?” impelled ACS Technologies to conduct a smaller follow-up survey in February 2024 on hospitality alone.
“Christmas is a time that churches usually see an influx in attendance, and it gives us an incredible opportunity to perform outreach initiatives based on reliable data,” said Terry Poplava, General Manager of ACST Catholic, a division of ACS Technologies. “In the American Beliefs Study, newcomers reported that ‘warm and friendly encounters’ were highly important to them. We were specifically interested in the behaviors and circumstances that foster this kind of environment in a parish.”
The follow-up survey conducted this year asked 1,075 American Christians to rate the “warm and friendly” level of a number of different actions. On a 5-point scale ranging from “Somewhat Warm and Friendly” to “Very Warm and Friendly,” the Catholic sample gave highest scores to the following actions: 1.) someone at the door greeting you with a smile, 2.) seeing a friend in attendance, 3.) someone offering you a seat at Mass, 4.) someone inviting you to attend again, 5.) hearing all visitors welcomed by a church leader, and 6.) someone personally inviting you to Mass.
“The most important thing to note when looking at these findings is that most are made by fellow church attendees, showing that the Catholic call to evangelization is quite simple,” Poplava said. “These are practical ways you can evangelize while going about your normal weekly Mass routine.”
In summary, Poplava offers the following suggestions for parishes:
- Rethink “Welcome”: a smile and an invitation are a great starting point for many people, but invitation, conversation, and community experiences are more impactful. Be intentional about the way you reach out to those around you at Mass.
- Build Bridges of Trust: Before a person can fall in love with Christ through the Catholic Church, trust must be established. Creating an intentional plan to reach out to newcomers and follow up with them later will allow them to feel at home at your parish.
- Communicate Impact: Set clear expectations and goals for parishioners to follow so that growth can be celebrated as a community! Examples of goals would be to encourage parishioners to find one more person to invite to an upcoming event.
For more information on the survey and a complete press kit, visit this link.
To read the blog explaining the study, visit this page.
Terry Poplava is available for comment. To request an interview, contact Carrie Kline at carriek@missionadvancementpartners.com.
About ACST Catholic
ACST Catholic is dedicated to empowering Catholic parishes and dioceses with innovative technology solutions tailored to their unique needs. With a commitment to excellence and service, ACST Catholic partners with organizations to enhance efficiency, engagement, and effectiveness in fulfilling their mission.
About ACS Technologies
Founded in 1978, ACS Technologies is the leading, most comprehensive provider of church ministry tools, support, and expertise solutions to nearly 50,000 churches, schools, dioceses, and denominational offices. With the mission to enable everyone in the Church with a personalized ministry environment to make God-honoring decisions in actionable ways. ACS Technologies desires to build the Kingdom by being a trusted ministry partner in the daily life of every church. ACS Technologies stands apart by providing a whole church approach, meeting the needs of the denomination/diocese, pastor/priest, staff/volunteers, and congregants/parishioners with unique value to each role with each ministry goal. ACS Technologies is a privately held independent Christian family-led company based out of Florence, SC, with remote team members across the U.S.
