November 3, 2026
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The average churchgoer scores low on discipleship, but focusing on a few key areas can lead to growth.
The State of Discipleship study by Lifeway Research found the average U.S. Protestant churchgoer scores 68.1 on a scale of 0 to 100, but new analysis of the data reveals several key variables linked to higher discipleship scores overall and across eight critical signposts.
Those wanting to grow in their faith may want to focus on actions such as taking time to praise God, praying for non-Christians, and reading their Bible.
“The heart behind this analysis is not to create a list to work from but to give churchgoers and church leaders ways to draw near to God that have been statistically shown to be the most helpful,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The encouragement here reflects James 4:8: ‘Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you’ (CSB).”
Regression analysis was used to determine what set of variables best predicts higher scores in each signpost and in churchgoers’ overall scores. Of more than 100 possibilities, 31 variables were found to predict higher scores, and 25 of those stood out as most essential. Expressing praise and thanksgiving to God for who He is and praying for opportunities to tell others about Jesus are each among the most essential predictors of higher scores in six signposts and for the total score.
The discipleship gap
Lifeway Research studied churchgoers’ levels of discipleship by asking dozens of questions related to Christian doctrine and practice. This highlighted eight characteristics that are consistently present in the lives of believers who are progressing in their spiritual maturity — engaging the Bible, obeying God and denying self, serving God and others, sharing Christ, exercising faith, seeking God, building relationships and living unashamed. Average scores across the signposts ranged from near 80 (seeking God, 78.5) down to the 50s (sharing Christ, 54.8).
Additionally, the State of Discipleship study discovered that pastors see discipleship as a priority for their churches. But only half (52 percent) are satisfied with the state of discipleship in their church, and half (52 percent) say they have an intentional plan for encouraging discipleship among their people. While 7 in 10 pastors believe methods exist to track spiritual growth, only 30 percent say their church has a specific method to do so.
“Over time, churches should be systematically teaching all biblical principles, as Peter wrote, ‘You also are to be holy in all your conduct’ (1 Peter 1:15, CSB). But there are several biblical practices that statistics reveal particularly impact the participant,” McConnell said.
Top discipleship predictors for a higher total score
Of the 31 predictors across all the signposts, 15 are considered most essential to a higher total score for an individual churchgoer, while another 10 are most essential to at least one of the signposts but not the total score.
Specific actions that are essential variables for a higher total score include several related to prayer:
Beyond prayer, other important individual activities include:
Several essential actions for a higher total discipleship score relate to reading, such as reading the Bible, studying the Bible, and reading a spiritual growth book besides the Bible.
Other important keys involve the local church. Higher scores are more likely among churchgoers who feel like they have a home church, attend a small group and have regular responsibilities at church.
Two other essential variables involve a churchgoer’s beliefs and choices. Churchgoers are more likely to have a higher total score if they believe they will gain access to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Higher scores are also linked to those who say they more often decide to obey God, knowing it may be costly.
“In the Bible there isn’t just one verse that tells everything about a believer’s walk with Christ. In the same way, there isn’t a single discipleship practice that suddenly makes you holy in all areas,” McConnell said. “What we do have is the numeric testimonies of churchgoers showing a short set of actions that have been most impactful to their spiritual growth.”
Signpost predictors
Pastors who recognize specific deficits in their congregation can encourage churchgoers in certain actions and beliefs associated with higher scores on each signpost.
“The more pastors understand their congregations, the more focused they can be on encouraging growth in the most needed areas. Taking a season to teach the beliefs, desires, and actions around one discipleship signpost is helpful. At this same time, selecting one action to emphasize provides a narrow focus that allows for more discernible impact. Growth in one signpost typically benefits other areas as well,” McConnell said.
Engaging the Bible
Unsurprisingly, churchgoers who have higher scores in this signpost are those who read and study the Bible more often. Another key predictor is regularly using and following a Bible reading plan. Scoring higher is also associated with many of the prayer and personal worship habits.
A unique predictor for this signpost, though not one of the most essential, is listening to or reading teaching about the Bible. In total, there are 11 predictors, including seven that are most essential to scoring higher on engaging the Bible.
Obeying God and denying self
In addition to many of the predictors about personal prayer and worship, another key to higher scores in this characteristic is confessing sins to God and asking for forgiveness more often.
Attending church as a teenager is not an essential predictor, but it is a unique one for this signpost. For obeying God and denying self, 12 predictors are linked to higher scores, including eight that are most essential.
Serving God and others
Two of the most essential practices are unique to this spiritual growth characteristic. Those who are involved in community ministries outside their church and those who more often serve someone who couldn’t repay them are more likely to score higher in this signpost.
As with the previous signpost, there are 12 total predictors and eight most essential ones for serving God and others.
Sharing Christ
The evangelistic signpost has the most predictors (13) and the most essential predictors (10). Four essential predictors are unique to this characteristic: sharing their faith story, sharing with someone how to become a Christian, having discipled a less mature Christian, and reading a Bible commentary.
Exercising faith
This characteristic has six predictors, including five that are considered most essential. All but one of those five are also most essential in other signposts. The exception, deciding to obey God knowing it may be costly, is a predictor for three other characteristics but is a most essential predictor only for exercising faith.
Seeking God
The seeking God signpost has 12 predictors, including eight that are most essential. All of those are also most essential in other signposts, except feeling like they have a home church. That is a most essential predictor for seeking God but only a predictor for three other signposts.
Building relationships
For those looking to grow in building relationships, there are 11 predictors, six of which are most essential. Two are unique to this signpost, and both involve deeper connections at the local church: attending a small group more often and having regular responsibilities at church.
Living unashamed
There are six predictors, including four that are most essential for this signpost. None is unique to this signpost. The four most essential are regularly attending church for more years, expressing praise and thanksgiving to God for who He is more often, setting aside time for prayer of any kind more often and believing they will go to heaven because they’ve confessed their sins and accepted Jesus.
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For more information, view the complete report and visit LifewayResearch.com/Discipleship.
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