PUBLISHER 6 february 2026 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South florida edition I’ve been trying to find if any research existed other than anecdotal opinions regarding church attendance since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Based on my personal attendance at Sunday church services, I have seen a dramatic increase in attendance, from my visual of ‘not many empty seats.’ Without question, the average age in growth of attendance has dramatically grown with young millennials. That’s a good sign. I hope it keeps up. Because of my fascination with wanting to know things, I’ve gathered some church statistics supplied by Churchtrac and Barna group. You can draw your own conclusions, but just based on Bible sales, the trends after two decades of slowly declining numbers are trending upward and are very positive, right now. - Leslie J. Feldman - Publisher On The Cover In recognition of their 100th Anniversary, Major Juan Guadalupe, area commander of The Salvation Army of Broward, stands beside an iconic Red Kettle, often seen manned by cheerful volunteers seeking donations for families in need over the holidays. The cover photo was taken at BrandStar Studio’s state-of-the-art facility in Deerfield Beach. We want to express our gratitude to Mark Alfieri, CEO and co-founder of BrandStar, Devon Vital, chief of staff, and Campbell Robinson, production coordinator, for graciously partnering with us by making their incredible facility available to serve our community and for their creative assistance. Read the cover article: “The Salvation Army of Broward Marks 100 Years of Doing the Most Good” on pages 28 & 29. Photo credit: Luis Feliz www.luisfelizproductions.com Church Attendance Trends What Percent of Church Members Attend Regularly There has been a significant decline in church attendance since the turn of the 21st century, according to multiple surveys of church attendance from several research institutions. The chart below made with data from Gallup's recent survey illustrates the trend: What percentage of members attend church regularly? What percentage of churchgoing people attend regularly depends on your threshold for what you consider regular attendance. If once a week, only 20% of Americans attend church at that rate, down from 32% in 2000. If we lower the threshold to once a month or more, the number of Americans in regular attendance jumps to 41% (this combines all respondents who answered weekly, almost every week, and about once a month in the Gallup survey). Bible Sales in the U.S. have shown a significant sustained increase since 2019, reaching record highs in 2024 and 2025, particularly driven by Gen Z and younger consumers. Data from Circana BookScan shows that over 18 million Bibles were sold in 2025 (up to November), compared to 9.7 million in 2019. Key U.S. Bible Statistics (Circana Data) • 2019: 9.7 million copies • 2020: 14.2 million copies • 2021: 13.7 million copies (first 10 months) • 2024: 13.7 million copies sold through October, marking a 22% increase over the previous year. • 2025: More than 18 million sold, marking a 21-year high. Key Trends and Factors • Surge Drivers: Publishers attribute rising sales to a “quiet revival” among young demographics and a search for stability amid global instability, AI fears, and social uncertainty. • Demographic Shift: Strong interest is reported among Gen Z and younger Americans. • Global Context: Globally, more than 100 million Bibles are sold annually. • Translation Demand: The English Standard Version (ESV) is a top-selling translation. Key Statistics: 20% of Americans attend church every week (Gallup) 41% of Americans are in monthly church attendance or more (Gallup) 57% of Americans are seldom or never in religious service attendance (Gallup) Regular church attendance has steadily declined since the turn of the century (Gallup and Pew Research Center) What Percent of Millennials Attend Religious Services 39% of Millennials report attending church on a weekly basis, according to Barna's recent State of the Church report. This is a significant increase over years prior and places them at a much higher rate of attendance than Generation X and even the Boomer generation, which had previously been more faithfully in attendance than their younger counterparts. Though most churches are still below pre-pandemic attendance rates, many church leaders are seeing a return of past members, as well as an increase in guests. Read our article on Getting Your Church to Come Back in 2023 to learn how you can reach past members and see growth in the year ahead. Key Statistics: 39% of Millennials report attending church weekly, up from 21% in 2019 (Barna) Non-white Millennials drive the increase in church attendance. 45% of non-white Millennials are attending church weekly, compared to 35% of white Millennials. (Barna) Why Are Millennials Leaving the Church Many Millennials never had strong ties to religion in the first place. My generation was not brought up in the church in the same numbers as generations prior, leaving us without much connection to the church as we entered adulthood. Millennials are also reportedly turned off by the high-profile church leadership scandals and the increasing political polarization in many American congregations, causing many to lose trust in churches and religious institutions altogether. Hopeful Signs of Millennial Church Attendance However, there are some hopeful signs. Millennials make up the largest surge in returns to church as the pandemic has ended. We are entering crucial life stages that make us open to church as a way to connect and find guidance. Key Statistics: 39% of Millennials report attending church weekly, up from 21% in 2019 (Barna) 40% of Millennials are religiously unaffiliated (Pew Research Center) Which Churches Are Losing the Most Members For decades, mainline protestant denominations were losing members at alarming rates, while the conservative evangelical traditions grew or at least maintained their numbers. For instance, between 2000 and 2015, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Episcopal Church, and the United Church of Christ lost 40% of their members. In contrast, Protestant Evangelical churches and denominations saw a slight increase in church memberships during the first decade of the 21st century.
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