The 9% Church: Where Have All the Christians Gone?
“If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” — 1 Corinthians 14:8
This is the blog where I finally explain the figure I keep referring to: 9%. It’s not an accidental number. It’s not hyperbole. It’s not even the latest Census headline. It’s far more sobering than that.
So what is the 9%?
The 9% comes from a 2018 national study commissioned by the Wilberforce Foundation and conducted by McCrindle Research, titled “Faith and Belief in New Zealand”. This extensive report surveyed over 1,000 New Zealanders across the country and included a deep dive into religious attitudes, spiritual openness, and church engagement. It wasn’t just a numbers exercise—it was a health check on the spiritual pulse of our nation.
And here’s what it found:
33% of New Zealanders identified as Christian in some way.
Of those, only 16% attended church at least once a month.
But most sobering of all: only 9% of Kiwis were considered “active practisers” of the Christian faith—those who regularly participate in church life and live out their beliefs in meaningful, consistent ways.
So there it is. That’s the origin of the figure I keep referencing. The 9% are not just believers—they are the truly engaged. They are the prayer warriors, the disciple-makers, the community builders, the ones who show up, speak up, and live it out.
And this should rattle us.
The Traffic Light of Church Engagement
Let’s use a simple traffic light to understand the gravity of what this means:
9% are highly engaged. These are the ones carrying the spiritual weight of the nation.
16% attend church monthly or more but are only partially engaged. They might attend services, but their commitment is often peripheral. They’re believers—but not necessarily disciples.
The remaining 8% of the 33% who identify as Christian are what I’d call cultural Christians. The word “Christian” might appear on their census form or be whispered at a funeral, but it’s not reflected in daily life, practice, or community.
The danger? That orange light is blinking. If we don’t address it now, we risk the 16% sliding into red.
We could soon be a nation with just 9% engaged… and 22% disengaged.
Why This Matters
We are in the midst of a slow-motion collapse of Christian practice in New Zealand. The Sunday services might still be happening. Worship songs still echo through auditoriums. But the foundations are eroding beneath our feet.
When only one in eleven New Zealanders is living out the Christian faith with consistency, community, and courage, we’re no longer shaping culture—we’re responding to it.
We are no longer at the table. We are banging on the window from outside.
And when the disengaged outnumber the engaged within our own faith community, we don’t just have a discipleship problem—we have a survival problem.
We Must Act—Now
Some might say, “But 9% is better than nothing.” I disagree.
That 9% is at risk if we don’t reimagine what Church looks like. The 16% are at even greater risk if we don’t engage them intentionally, create community for them relationally, and invite them into mission purposefully.
This is not a time to “consolidate”. This is a time to mobilise.
We must:
Reignite an intentional community that goes beyond Sunday morning.
Rebuild community life that is deep, costly, and interdependent—like the early Acts Church.
Re-engage the disengaged before they walk away silently into a secular life that no longer includes Christ or His Body.
Reform Church culture that has become shaped by comfort, individualism and consumerism, which all compromise the Cross.
So What Does Engagement Look Like?
Engagement isn’t about building better rosters or launching new ministries. It’s about invitation and participation. It’s about making space at the table for believers to not only attend—but contribute.
Engagement is:
Being known by name.
Being called into something bigger than yourself.
Being trusted with purpose, not just tasks.
Belonging to a living, breathing community—not just an audience.
Being engaged is a Church actively seeking you out and how you can contribute to the community, not expecting you to make all the first moves to be seen and appreciated. The early Acts Church didn’t “attend.” They devoted themselves to one another (Acts 2:42). They were engaged—body, soul, and spirit.
My Call
To every pastor and leader reading this:
Don’t settle for shepherding the 9%. They will burn out if they are the only ones truly engaged.
Focus your eyes on the orange light. That’s where the battle is. That’s where the harvest is. That’s where the future will be decided.
To those in the 16%—if you’ve been drifting, half-in, wondering if your Church even notices—this is your invitation: come alive again. We need you.
To the 9%—this is not about holding the fort. It’s about transforming the Church from the inside out. No one left unengaged. No passive pew-sitters. No spectators. It’s time to confront the twin idols of individualism and materialism. It’s time to align every part of our community around one mission: the mission of Jesus.
This is how we stop the slow bleed.
This is how the Church becomes a movement again.
This is how renewal begins.
To the Church in Aotearoa—this is your time.
Research Source
Faith and Belief in New Zealand: A national research study exploring attitudes towards religion, spirituality and Christianity, McCrindle Research & The Wilberforce Foundation, May 2018.
