Social services offered by churches often go unnoticed by Americans, new study reveals

Many Americans know that churches are involved in programs to feed the hungry and clothe the poor, but few are aware of other church programs that are aimed at serving the community.

A study conducted by LifeWay Research found that 60 percent of Americans are aware that churches feed the hungry, while 50 percent know that churches give clothing to the poor.

However, few Americans are aware of that churches also provide other social services, such as tutoring school kids, teaching English to immigrants and helping people prepare their taxes.

"Unless you've received help from a church -- or been involved in serving others -- these kinds of programs may fly under the radar," said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, according to Baptist Press.

Out of 1,000 Americans surveyed, only eight percent were aware that churches help people prepare their taxes. Only 12 percent know that churches offer foster care, and 13 percent were aware that churches teach English to immigrants.

A few more knew about the churches' efforts to provide aid to new moms at 19 percent. Twenty-one percent were aware that churches support local schools, while 29 percent know about after-school programs offered by churches.

A quarter of the respondents said they were aware that church members visit prisoners, while 33 percent knew that churches shelter the homeless. Thirty-nine percent knew about the efforts of churches to provide relief to disaster victims.

The findings indicated that those who attend religious services at least once a month are more likely to know about the services offered by congregations.

Thirty percent of the respondents who attend services at least once a month said they have heard of churches tutoring school kids, while eight percent of those who attend less than once a month have heard of church tutoring programs.

A total of 72 percent of respondents who regularly attend services, knew that churches give clothing to the poor, compared to 39 percent who attend church less than once a month.

McConnell noted that churches often serve anyone from their community, whether they attend services or not. However, those who attend the services may not get the message, which he said is a problem because people won't turn to a church when they need help if they don't know about a church's efforts to help others.

"People who need help may be missing out," he said. "And Americans who want to lend a hand might miss the chance to help out and along the way connect with the church," he added.

The survey was conducted between Sept. 27 and Oct 1, 2016, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.