From Gen Z preferences to post-pandemic shifts and the rise of hybrid worship—here’s what the latest data says about how people show up for church in 2025.

Quick Church Attendance Stats at a Glance

• 40% of U.S. adults say they attend church monthly (Pew, 2025)

• Over two-thirds of churches now offer online or hybrid services (Resi, 2025)

• 28% drop in weekly in-person attendance since 2019 (Gallup, 2025)

• 40% of churches under 200 members reported growth last year (Lifeway, 2025)

• 1 in 3 Gen Z Christians gravitate to smaller, home-based churches and “micro” gatherings (Christianity Today, 2025)

Post-Pandemic Church Attendance Patterns Are Now Permanent

2020 changed everything — and in 2025, it’s clear that many of those shifts are here to stay.

Hybrid worship is no longer a backup plan. It’s the new baseline. Churches offering flexible attendance options (both in-person + digital) are outperforming those sticking to in-person only. Attendees increasingly mix and match formats, depending on convenience, health, and schedule.

• Online-only worship has stabilized at ~15–20% of total attendance. A minority of people now attend exclusively online – but this is a persistent segment. Rather than disappearing after churches reopened, online worship has found its place in the ecosystem.

• Many families alternate weeks between live and streamed services. Church leaders report that giving and involvement stay consistent even when physical attendance fluctuates, as an increasing number of members stay connected virtually.

• Mid-size churches with basic digital infrastructure (streaming, digital check-ins, giving) have seen the highest retention. By investing in user-friendly tech, these churches made it simple for people to attend in whatever manner works each week. The result is that hybrid-friendly congregations are retaining more of their pre-2020 members compared to those that dropped online options.

Hybrid church attendance is here to stay. Offering multiple ways to engage isn’t a niche strategy anymore – it’s expected. In fact, 8 in 10 U.S. churches now provide hybrid services. The churches that continue to lean into flexible attendance options are seeing broader reach and steadier numbers than those that don’t.

In-Person Church Attendance Is Down — but Engagement Isn’t

Weekly in-person attendance is lower than it was pre-COVID. But equating this with disengagement is a mistake. Many people who aren’t in a pew on Sunday are still connected to their church in other ways throughout the week.

Churches that track engagement across channels are seeing stable or even rising participation, just spread out more diffusely. Nearly 2 in 5 churchgoers say they have watched a livestream service at least occasionally instead of attending in person.

• Sunday mornings aren’t the only metric. Weeknight services, online small groups, classes, and family events now account for a larger share of church activity than a decade ago. A person might skip Sunday worship but show up faithfully to a Tuesday prayer meeting or participate in a Thursday Zoom Bible study. All of that attendance is very real.

• New metrics are emerging. Churches are redefining what “showing up” means by tracking both physical and digital engagement. Check-in systems and event-based attendance tracking help clarify the full picture of involvement. Using a modern check-in platform lets a church log who attends various programs throughout the week, not just who sits in the sanctuary . This data-driven approach shows that while in-person attendance on a given Sunday might be lower, the aggregate number of touchpoints can be as high as ever.

• “Attendance” now includes engagement. Churches are looking at metrics like monthly unique attendance, serving team participation, and small group involvement. Many report that even with lower Sunday headcounts, overall engagement is holding steady or even growing. If 100 people attend on Sunday but another 50 engage online or midweek, the total engaged is 150 – a figure that traditional tracking would have missed.

One practical outcome of this shift is that church leaders are using technology to capture involvement beyond the pews. Automated check-ins at events, mobile apps, and digital attendance forms help churches see who they’re really reaching. This paints a more accurate picture of church health. “Don’t just count who’s in the room; count who’s in the orbit.” In 2025, that orbit is often much larger than the Sunday morning crowd.

Gen Z’s Relationship with Church Is Different — Not Absent

 Gen Z gets a bad rap for disengagement, but the reality is more nuanced. They are engaging, but differently. They tend to favor different formats and values than previous generations did. It’s less about huge auditoriums and polished productions, and more about authenticity and community.

 Young adults today do still attend church – just not always in the traditional mold. Springtide Research found that 36% of Gen Z surveyed attend religious services at least once a month, yet an almost equal share never attend. A considerable minority of Gen Z is in church regularly, while others practice faith outside conventional services. The key for churches is understanding how to reach and accommodate this generation’s unique approach.

They’re attending differently — often in smaller, less polished, more relational spaces. According to Springtide’s 2025 study:

• Authenticity over performance. Gen Z highly values authenticity. They are drawn to faith that feel genuine and unscripted, rather than production-driven. A slick, concert-like service might impress older generations, but many Gen Z seekers find it off-putting. This means a down-to-earth sermon in a living room may resonate more than a rehearsed performance from a stage.

• Service, conversation, and community. Young people respond to ministries that emphasize doing good and having honest conversations. They often prefer active faith – volunteering, service projects, mission trips – over passive attendance. They also crave spaces where they can ask questions and talk openly. Churches that host coffeehouse-style discussions or serve alongside neighbors tend to connect with Gen Z. Relationships and purpose drive their involvement more than programs or traditions do.

• Relevance over rituals and real estate. Many in Gen Z want churches to focus less on big buildings, big budgets, and inherited rituals, and more on relevance to today’s issues. This doesn’t mean core doctrines change, but it does mean connecting faith to real-world challenges. A small house church tackling local homelessness might appeal more than a sprawling campus that feels disconnected from its community. Gen Z Christians often say they care less about denominational labels or ornate facilities – they care about whether the church is making a difference and addressing their questions.

And notably: they’re more likely to attend if invited by a friend or peer, not via marketing or outreach programs. Many teens and 20-somethings who do attend say it’s because someone they trust brought them along, not because they saw an ad or joined via a generalized outreach program. This means building peer relationships is critical – every Gen Z churchgoer can be an ambassador to invite others.

Gen Z’s lower visible attendance doesn’t equal lack of faith or interest. It means churches need to meet them where they are. Those churches that adapt – by creating intimate “home group” environments, fostering mentorship, and emphasizing authenticity – are seeing young people engage deeply.

Small Churches Are Growing Quietly Church Attendance

Despite lower budgets and fewer staff, small churches (under 200 members) are seeing surprising growth — especially in rural and suburban areas. The median worship attendance at a U.S. church is about 65 people as of 2023, down from 137 people in 2000. But here’s the twist: smaller congregations are holding steady or even growing, quietly but steadily.

What’s driving church attendance in small churches?

There are some common denominators among these growing small congregations:

• Personalized welcomes and a family feel. Walk into a small church and you’re likely to be greeted personally, often by someone who remembers your name. That sense of immediate belonging is hard to replicate in larger settings. Smaller churches often feel more like a family than an institution. This relational depth fuels retention – people stick where they feel genuinely cared for.

• Clear on-ramps for first-timers. Growing small churches tend to be intentional about assimilating new people. They might offer a newcomers’ lunch, a brief membership class, or simply have a member assigned to follow up personally with every visitor. There’s less bureaucracy, so it’s easy for someone to jump in and get involved. This agility and inclusion helps turn first-time visitors into regulars.

• Simple-but-effective use of technology. Small churches are proving you don’t need an elaborate tech suite to make a big impact – just the right tools used wisely. For example, a secure self check-in system for kids can streamline Sunday morning and impress visiting families with smooth, safe childcare drop-off. Printing name tags for children and parents, sending a quick SMS follow-up to say “Thanks for coming!”, or using an iPad to collect visitor info – these small touches go a long way. They show professionalism and care. Implementing a basic child check-in software demonstrates that even a modest-sized church is proactive about safety and organization, which builds trust with parents. A positive, efficient check-in experience can make families more likely to return. Technology helps a small church make a great first impression and stay connected during the week.

Large churches have the platform, but small churches have the community. In 2025, that community feel is a significant asset. Gen Z finds the family-like environment of small churches very appealing. Older adults who drifted during COVID are finding their way into intimate fellowships where they can reconnect on a personal level. Small doesn’t mean struggling; small can mean thriving. The narrative that all small churches are dying is simply not true – many are quietly growing by doing what they do best: knowing each person and serving their local community with heart.

Large churches still dominate headlines, but it’s the relational depth in smaller congregations that’s fueling retention.

What’s Next for Church Attendance? Flexible Formats and Intentional Design

Churches that are thriving in 2025 are not just riding out change — they’re leaning into it:

• Flexible service times: Saturday evening and weekday services are gaining traction. The idea is to lower the barrier for attendance by fitting church into modern schedules. By experimenting with non-traditional times, churches are capturing people they would otherwise miss. It’s all about meeting people where they are.

• Better data: In 2025, leading churches want to know in the moment how their church attendance is doing. Pastors are pulling up dashboards on Monday morning to see exactly how many people attended, how many kids checked in, how many views the livestream got. Tools from church management software to simple spreadsheets are being leveraged to turn attendance into actionable insights. Real-time tracking of attendance and engagement allows churches to respond faster and plan smarter. It’s the era of “know your flock” not just by feel, but by the numbers as well.

• Purposeful tech: After the scramble of 2020, many churches accumulated a pile of new tech tools – some highly useful, others gathering dust. The trend now is to simplify and be intentional: use the technologies that genuinely enhance ministry and connection and let go of the rest. A good example is how many have invested in digital welcome kiosks or tablets for new guests to fill in their info, which then triggers a personalized follow-up email. It’s simple tech with a relational purpose. The hybrid church model is here to stay, so the focus is on doing it well.

Final Thought: The New Definition of “Showing Up”

In 2025, “church attendance” can’t be measured by a headcount alone. “Showing up” now has a much broader definition – it includes showing up digitally, relationally, and spiritually. A person might be very committed to their church without sitting in the pew every single week, and we have to recognize that.

All the trends we’ve discussed point to one thing: the way people “attend” church is more diverse than ever. Yet diverse doesn’t mean deficient. Churches that understand this shift – and build their ministry strategies with this new reality in mind – are the ones poised to grow in both depth and numbers. It’s about meeting people where they are and counting all the ways they are present.

The future of church attendance is a hybrid of physical and digital, traditional and innovative, gathered and scattered. It’s more complex to measure, but it’s rich with opportunities. And that redefined vision of church attendance – one that prioritizes engagement over mere appearance – will guide the churches that thrive in the years to come.

Looking to add a modern check-in system to your church? Get started with Kidddo today.