In June 2021, the Building Faith team conducted a 10-question reader survey. A total of 336 people responded. Here’s what we learned!
Who is our audience?
Lay & Ordained Folks
Most of our readers identify as lay people (63.4%). In addition, 31.5% identify as priest/pastor/ordained minister and 5.1% identify as deacons. Some folks noted in the comments that none of these categories were a fit for them.
Representing Over 20 Different Denominations
Our readers serve in twenty-one different denominations, with Episcopalians representing the majority of our audience (50.3%):
Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Christian Reformed, Church of England, Community of Christ, Covenant, Disciples of Christ, Episcopalian, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Mennonite, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, Uniting Church in Australia, United Church of Canada, United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Unitarian Universalist
Paid & Unpaid Leaders
Our readers are paid and unpaid leaders serving in churches (89.9% of respondents), homes, regions, schools, at the denominational level, and in other contexts.
Ministering With All Ages
Our readers minister with people across the age spectrum from children to older adults. Children and adults were the most common age groups listed by respondents as the groups with whom they are in ministry.
Churches of All Sizes
Our readers serve in churches of every size, with the majority of respondents serving in small and medium sized churches. Over 60% serve a congregation with an Average Sunday Attendance of 140 or less.
How does our audience engage with our content?
Building Faith articles can be accessed on our website, our Facebook page, and by subscribing to our email list (we send articles directly to your inbox twice a week). The majority of those who took our survey, 88.4%, access Building Faith through email with many folks also using the website and/or the Facebook page.
Is our audience interested in supporting our work through a paid membership?
Building Faith has been growing organically. At the time of this writing we have 4,728 subscribers, but that is just a fraction of the folks who could benefit from our trusted resources. To sustain and grow our ministry, we need financial support from our readers. In the survey, we asked three related questions:
- Would you be interested in supporting Building Faith’s work through a paid membership? Most folks, 55.1%, said maybe.
- How much would you (or your church) be willing and able to pay for a one-year membership? The vast majority of respondents, 70.7%, said $60 a year.
- If Building Faith offered a paid membership, which of the following options would be of the highest interest to you? The most popular answer was seasonal planning workshops.
While the survey did indicate some interest in a paid Building Faith membership (43 respondents said they would like a paid membership and 185 said maybe) what we heard in the comment section of the survey was a plea to keep Building Faith free. Many people indicated they or their church could not afford to pay for a Building Faith membership. Multiple people indicated they would rather make a donation or see advertising on our site and in our emails.
Based on this feedback, we have decided not to add a paid membership option at this time. Instead, we will 1) offer some of the ideas you were excited about as single, paid events and 2) ask you directly to support our work through donations.
You can make a one time donation or a reoccurring donation to support our work today by clicking here (or the button below). Donations of all sizes are welcome, you can select “other” to enter the amount of your choice. You can donate at any time through the “Support Us” link in the top right corner of our home page.
Thank you!
We are so grateful to be part of such a creative, faithful community. Special thanks to the 336 folks who took the time to offer their feedback and to those who are reading the results!
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