Abstract:
Worldwide, church membership is decreasing. A decline in the number of young adults that
attend church services is also evident. The purpose of the research was to determine whether
the application of a well-established body of knowledge of marketing theories and principles
could be used by churches to encourage young adults to return to the church. The application
of services marketing to the church as a non-profit organisation is discussed by focussing on
non-physical and physical atmospheric cues in the church’s servicescape that could enhance
church attendance. A quantitative approach was used by testing the opinions of 200 church
service attendees of different denominations. The findings indicated that certain elements in
the servicescape of a church may be useful in attracting young adults. It was found that music is
a strong determinant of whether young adults attend church services, followed by layout and
design of the church and then by the signs and symbols used in the church. Females reported
significantly higher levels of positive perceptions concerning the layout and design. Although
the research showed that some marketing elements, such as a positive servicescape, could
improve church attendance, other personal elements such as forming personal relationships
with fellow Christians and God need to be further explored.
