Generally, there is warmth toward small groups even among churchgoers who are not engaged in them. So what’s holding back some churchgoers from acting on this interest? Barna’s survey asked several questions of nonattendees to explore their hopes, hesitations and preferences when it comes to small groups. These churchgoers’ responses highlight some of the challenges that may hinder relationships and discipleship in today’s congregations. Here are some themes we see in the data that can help you to better understand potential barriers to small-group engagement:

• A lack of time: A main cause of reluctance among churchgoers who are not part of small groups is one you may know well: busyness. “I am too busy and don’t have time” is the number one reason a churchgoer isn’t currently engaged in a group (19%). Similarly, and just below this option, 15 percent choose “I can’t meet when small groups are offered.”
• A lack of commitment: Busyness is tied with one other response as the top hurdle: One in five selects “I am not that active in my church.” Church leaders also sense the impasse of low engagement. Pastors who feel their small-group ministry is weak single out “a lack of commitment” as the top reason a small group might do poorly, even more so than other operational issues or failures.
• A lack of comfort: Compared to older generations, younger generations are more likely to say they aren’t in a small group because they don’t think they would fit in, are intimidated, fear getting hurt and worry people wouldn’t like them. These patterns are true for both men and women, though young men especially feel they wouldn’t fit in or even that people wouldn’t get along with them, while young women especially say, “I don’t know anyone who goes to a small group and I don’t want to go alone.”
• A lack of awareness: Among churchgoers who aren’t presently part of a small group or Bible study, more than one-fifth (22%) tells Barna they actually aren’t sure if their church offers such a thing. This uncertainty climbs among younger churchgoers and among those in smaller churches.

These barriers represent a combination of practical and social problems. But when churches address these frictions, they do more than just make small-group attendance more likely; they contribute to relationships that, as Ed Stetzer puts it in Barna’s Discipleship in Community report, “shine a light of hope and become a powerful tool for the Kingdom.”

This release is part of Barna and Gloo’s ongoing State of the Church initiative. More Trends and stories related to the power of community can be found exclusively on Barna Access Plus.

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