Many pastors in the United States say discipleship is essential in their churches, but most lack clear ways to measure it, according to the results of a study conducted by Lifeway Research.
The study, titled “State of Discipleship,” reveals that although 52% of Protestant pastors say they’re satisfied with the discipleship and spiritual formation in their congregations, only 8% strongly agree with that statement.
The study found that 71% of pastors believe discipleship can be measured, yet just 30% say their churches have a system in place to do so. Of those, only 5% “strongly agree” that their churches use a defined system.
Half of the pastors surveyed said their churches have intentional plans for discipling individuals and promoting spiritual growth. However, the structure of those plans varies widely. Fifty percent of respondents said each ministry — such as youth, women’s or men’s — creates its own discipleship strategy, while 45% said their churches follow a single unified plan across all ministries, and 5% were unsure.
Churches also differ in how they prioritize spiritual development. When asked about the first priority in their discipleship activities, 46% of pastors pointed to biblical knowledge, while 38% prioritized “relationship and encouragement.” Nine percent focused on practical equipping or “how-to” activities, and 5% prioritized “experience and service.”
Weekly sermons are the most common tool to encourage adult discipleship, used by 89% of pastors, followed by Sunday School classes at 69%, and adult small group Bible studies at 62%.
Other methods include women’s groups or classes (57%), pastor-led teaching times such as Sunday or Wednesday evenings (54%), and men’s groups (45%). Some also cite study groups for all adults (42%), mentoring relationships (31%), and accountability groups (14%).
Despite the range of potential methods, pastors also acknowledge the wide variation in what discipleship means. When asked to define its components, the most common answers were spiritual growth or discipline (12%), Bible study or Scripture memorization (10%), mentoring or one-on-one meetings (7%), teaching or training (6%), prayer (6%), and making disciples (5%).
“The variety of ways that pastors describe key elements of discipleship illustrates there are multiple paths but also highlights the need for a framework for thinking through how a church is approaching discipleship,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, as quoted in the study.
The study drew its data from a survey of 2,620 Protestant pastors that was conducted from Sept. 10-30, 2024, with a margin of error of +/- 2.05 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
