Telephoning churches often proves fruitless, research shows
8/24/2000 By United Methodist News Service During a typical week, telephone callers have trouble getting through to a human being at Protestant churches, a new survey shows.
"When we make it difficult for people to get our attention, we send a negative message about the heart of the church while also training them to look elsewhere during their times of need," said George Barna, president of the Ventura, Calif.,-based Barna Research Group.
The company's findings include:
· In researchers' attempts to reach nearly 4,000 churches during business hours, a human being was accessible on the first attempt at only one-third of the Protestant churches called.
· Despite as many as 12 call attempts per church, 40 percent of the churches never provided access to a human being.
· The types of churches that were most difficult to reach were African-American churches and charismatic/Pentecostal churches.
· Although answering machines cost as little as $19, 44 percent of the churches that never answered their telephone did not have an answering machine.
Overall, denominations that attract the largest numbers of people also had above-average rates of churches where someone answered the phone. United Methodists had a response rate of 73 percent, one of the highest. Other groups included Southern Baptist (66 percent); Evangelical Lutheran (74 percent); Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (70 percent); Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (65 percent); Episcopal (83 percent) and Assembly of God (62 percent).
Sheilah Kyburz, president of the Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries, said telephones are frequent topics of conversation among members of that organization.
"Financially, it is not possible for all churches to have someone there at the phone all the time, but there are tools which churches can use, such as call forwarding and answering machines," she said. Kyburz is secretary to the bishop of the church's Minnesota Area. Regardless of the technology, she said the key is making efficient use of it. "Even an answering machine can be detrimental if it is not used appropriately."
To read the full report regarding telephone access survey, visit the Barna site at http://www.barna.org on the World Wide Web. The Barna Research Group Ltd. is an independent marketing research company, and it provided the funding for the study. Since 1984, it has been studying cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.
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