Are You a Church Member, Hopper or Shopper?

• ... Protestants were more likely to switch because they married someone from another tradition.
• And if they eventually left religion altogether, they were most likely of all formerly religious adherents to have tried several different traditions before giving up —
• 38% of unaffiliated former Protestants had switched traditions twice, and 32% had switched three or more times," according to Time magazine referring to the Pew Forum survey.
• "The concept of church-shopping itself is uniquely American," notes Time.

Is it any wonder that Americans are so prone to switch churches? We live in a society that values the free marketplace and consumerism. In our materialistic and consumer-driven culture, people have come to see religion as a product or commodity. In response, many churches have begun to apply the principles and practices of modern business management, advertising and marketing in order to meet the needs of consumers, find their niche in the marketplace of spirituality, and grow their membership.

In "Why Church Hopping is Bad," Adam McLane identifies five reasons and provides this advice to church leaders when they encounter church hoppers.

• "Call them out. (Privately) Invite them to shop but not hop. Speak truth into their life. Don’t placatte them and their silly requests. “We’d stay if you had a cry room with a video feed.” “We’d stay if you had a better college ministry.”
• My advice is for church leaders to be comfortable enough with who they are and their churches vision to kindly invite hoppers to keep on hopping!
• Catering to the saved is a distraction from reaching the lost."

 Travis Agnew writes this in a blog critical of church hopping:

• "There is a growing epidemic in the United States concerning church hopping. More churches’ membership numbers fluctuate not due to new converts but due to revolving membership doors.
• When someone becomes upset with music styles, church programs, carpet color, differences with another member, frustration with a staff member, or any other reason, people move their church memberships like they would a country club membership.
• When the place is no longer meeting someone’s needs, that person will find a place that can.
• What’s really sad is that many churches turn their advertising to lure other church members away.
• Many Christians jump on the occasion at a disgruntled church member to try to them to switch roles to a new congregation.
• Rarely does someone encourage an upset church member to do the biblical thing: reconciliation."