Church survey results

Every Sunday, many people gather at church services. But some churches are trying to focus on the people who are not coming to church.

"We want to help connect people to God," said pastor Mark Schmechel from Journey Community Church in De Pere. Schmechel is one of about two dozen pastors in the Green Bay area who will soon be using the results of an on-line survey to try to reach more souls.

"We just want to offer people the hope that we believe as a Christian church," Schmechel said.

The survey was put together by the Green Bay Pastors Network. More than 2,000 people responded to the survey this spring. While the results are still be finalized, some have been released, including some responses from people about their frustrations with local churches.

Some said the church is not needed. One person wrote, "I think organized religion as a whole is a huge hoax." Another wrote, "I feel I am better off following my own faith."

Some said churches are not relevant. "The church talks in language I don't always understand. I wish they could modernize it a little," one respondent wrote. Another wrote, the church "generally seems out of touch with today's world."

Some respondents accuse Christians of hypocrisy. One wrote, "People generally do not practice what they preach."

Others said Christians are too judgmental. "If you aren't like them, you do not belong..."

Some pastors, like Schmechel, are planning to use the results in their preaching.

"We just want to be more effective as a church," Schmechel said. "The more we understand where people are at, the more I think the church can learn from it."

The survey results, he said, are a great way to begin the dialogue.