Thanks to a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., Research Services has conducted surveys of the three largest racial-ethnic minority groups in the PCUSA membership: African Americans, Koreans, and Hispanics. Here are some of our findings about evangelism, with comparative data on whites from the Presbyterian Panel.
In response to continuing membership losses, there has been an increasing emphasis across the denomination on church growth. But what specifically do members want the church to be doing in this area? When asked, "how interested you, personally, would be in having the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) put resources and effort" into various evangelism efforts, members in all four samples expressed the most interest in one: "preparing Presbyterians to be better able to communicate their faith to others (personal evangelism)." Large majorities were "extremely interested" or "moderately interested" in such a denominational focus (83 percent of whites, 85 percent of African Americans, 89 percent of Koreans, and 92 percent of Hispanics).
There was less interest in and less agreement regarding workplace evangelism. While three-quarters of Hispanics and 73 percent of Koreans are "extremely" or "moderately" interested in efforts to "help Presbyterians witness to colleagues in the workplace," just 56 percent of African-American members and 44 percent of white members are similarly interested.
Thus, it appears that many members believe evangelism is perhaps less appropriate in a workplace setting. Their responses to another question support this conclusion. Among members who reported they had invited someone to an activity at their church in the last year (80 percent of African Americans, 76 percent of Hispanics, 62 percent of Koreans, and 65 percent of whites invited as least one person in the prior year), less than 20 percent in any sample reported that the last person invited was a co-worker. As can be seen in the figure, the person invited most recently was typically a friend. Nonetheless, many African-American and Hispanic members invited family members, and four in ten Korean members said the person they last invited to church was an acquaintance.
What efforts are being made in your congregation and in your presbytery to help members be better able to communicate their faith to others whether in the workplace, in the community, or with friends and family? It's something they're looking for.
If you're interested in a 4-page summary of the most recent survey of racial-ethnic members, send a $3 check (payable to, and in care of) "Research Services, PC(USA)" at 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202 and request the Racial-Ethnic Presbyterian Summary on Evangelism. Or view the summary online at Summary of Racial-Ethnic Presbyterians Views on Evangelism.
Research Services