81% of Protestant churchgoers identify Christian movies as powerful evangelical tools: survey

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Sunday, August 25, 2024

An overwhelming majority of Protestants view Christian movies as effective evangelism tools even as most churchgoers remain hesitant about sharing such films with their non-Christian friends, a new survey reveals.

Lifeway Research released a new report Tuesday based on responses from 1,008 American Protestant churchgoers collected in September 2023. The latest survey documents churchgoers’ views on Christian movies and books.

When asked if they viewed Christian movies as effective evangelism tools, 81% of respondents answered in the affirmative. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed said they “strongly agree” that Christian movies make effective evangelism tools, while 48% said they “somewhat agree.” Ten percent told pollsters they “somewhat disagree,” while 2% “strongly disagree” that Christian movies constitute effective ways to spread the Gospel.

A large majority of those surveyed (72%) said they intentionally watched movies with Christian messages, with 30% strongly agreeing that they sought out such content and 42% somewhat agreeing. Seventeen percent somewhat disagreed that they looked for movies with Christian messages, while just 7% strongly disagreed.

Overall, 68% of respondents reported watching a Christian movie in the past year, while 48% said they had watched a secular movie. Less common activities among Protestant churchgoers in the past year include the discussion of Christian themes found in secular movies with fellow Christians (30%), the discussion of Christian themes found in secular movies with non-Christians (21%), and inviting a non-Christian to watch Christian movies with them (12%).

Thirteen percent of respondents did not participate in any of the aforementioned activities.

Broken down by denomination, non-denominational Christians (60%) were most likely to have watched a secular movie in the past year, followed by Presbyterians (57%), Baptists (44%), Lutherans (41%) and members of the Church of Christ (37%). At the same time, non-denominational Christians (77%) were also the most likely to have watched a Christian movie in the past year, followed by Baptists (70%), Lutherans (53%) and Presbyterians (49%).

Fifteen percent of non-denominational Christians, 14% of Baptists, 14% of members of the Church of Christ, 3% of Lutherans and 3% of Presbyterians invited a non-Christian to watch a Christian movie with them. Twenty-eight percent of non-denominational Christians, 22% of Baptists, 12% of Lutherans and 10% of Presbyterians said they discussed Christian themes in secular movies with a non-Christian.

Baptists and non-denominational Christians were the most likely to have intentionally watched Christian movies in the past year, with 78% of respondents belonging to each denomination saying that they did so. Majorities of Methodists (59%), members of the Church of Christ (58%), Lutherans (57%) and Presbyterians (55%) also reported deliberately seeking out Christian movies.

Even larger shares of both Baptists and non-denominational Christians (84%) viewed Christian movies as effective evangelism tools, along with large majorities of Lutherans (75%) and Presbyterians (68%).

“It can be easy for Christian resource providers to design resources they hope are helpful, but Christian movies are something churchgoers want to see,” said Lifeway Research CEO Scott McConnell in a statement reacting to the report. “They don’t assume every Christian movie is a fit for non-Christians they know, but they agree films can be an effective way to share the gospel.”

McConnell explained that “Our intention in asking churchgoers if they watch secular movies was to contrast viewership of movies that are not overtly Christian themed,” adding “it’s clear some churchgoers may not have been familiar with this use of the term ‘secular’ and others may have thought it was seeking to contrast movies that are overtly anti-Christian.”

Noted Christian film producer Stephen Kendrick maintained that “Movies can be great tools to reach people where they are and share biblical truth in the context of an emotional and memorial story.” According to Kendrick, “Countless people have come to Christ through watching a Christian movie. The Holy Spirit continues to use art to point to the glory of Christ and the gospel.”

When it comes to Christian books, 65% of those surveyed said that they read at least one in the past year. Three percent reported reading ten or more, 1% read either eight or nine, 3% read either six or seven, 11% read four or five, 13% read three and 17% apiece read two books and one Christian book.

Thirty-one percent of respondents did not read any Christian books in the past year. Half of Lutherans (50%) did not read any Christian books in the past year, along with 34% of Presbyterians, 26% of Baptists and 25% of non-denominational Christians.

Kendrick actively encouraged Christians to “dive into a resource that will help them be transformed by the renewing of the minds” after “the emotion of a movie ends.” He offered specific examples of how Christian books can help people build on what they learned from Christian movies: “We praise God that countless marriages were saved through the combination of the movie ‘Fireproof’ and the follow up book ‘The Love Dare.’ The movie ‘Courageous’ inspired men to read ‘The Resolution for Men.’”

“Countless prayer ministries have been blessed by the movie ‘War Room’ and the follow-up resource, ‘The Battleplan for Prayer,’” Kendrick added.

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com