Interviews with more than 300 formerly unchurched people indicated that among the issues important to them, even when they were lost and unchurched, is the issue of doctrine.

"Even before I became a Christian," Cheryl S. told us, "I was really interested in what churches believed. I had enough common sense to know that they weren't all exactly alike. I wanted to find a church that would stick to their guns on their beliefs."

Surprisingly, the formerly unchurched indicated a greater interest in doctrine than longer-term Christians. Some 91 percent of the formerly unchurched thought that doctrine was important; 89 percent of those who transferred from another church expressed the same sentiments.

The formerly unchurched, however, were not just interested in the facts of the doctrine; they were insistent that the churches should be uncompromising in their stand. These facts fly in the face of an increasingly pluralistic and theologically tolerant culture.

It seems as if when one takes the step from being firmly unchurched to at least being an inquirer, attitudes change. The seeker desires to discover truth and a conviction among Christians about the reality of God, Jesus, and the entire supernatural realm.

Jorge C. spoke rather bluntly about the issue: "I visited a few churches before I became a Christian. Man, some of them made me want to vomit! They didn't show any more conviction about their beliefs than I did. And I was lost and going to hell!"

The formerly unchurched were clear. They not only were interested in learning about doctrine, they were attracted to conservative, evangelical churches that were uncompromising in their beliefs.

Dean Kelley was right

In 1972 Dean Kelley wrote a landmark and hotly debated book called "Why Conservative Churches Are Growing." The very fact that Kelley, an executive with the liberal National Council of Churches, even acknowledged the growth of conservative churches was significant. But Kelley went further, describing the characteristics of these conservative churches.

The first characteristic, obviously the most important to Kelley, was "a total belief system." In simple terms, Kelley was saying that conservative churches believe the Bible and make no apology for it.

Kelly further described four other distinguishing features of conservative churches:

• First, they have a distinctive code of conduct. This code of conduct emanates from the conviction of the beliefs in the churches.
• Second, they practice "strict discipline." Again, the churches are doing nothing more than practicing what they believe.
• Third, conservative churches commit significant resources to their causes. Of course, the very existence of a cause is the result of belief in Scripture, which shapes the cause.
• Finally, they have missionary zeal. What church could not have missionary zeal if the people believe in eternal salvation through Christ alone and eternal damnation without Christ, as taught in Scripture?

The formerly unchurched we interviewed probably never read "Why Conservative Churches Are Growing." But they echoed in sentiment what Kelley articulated in facts: Churches that are lukewarm in their doctrinal conviction do not attract the unchurched.

"I can find plenty of compromise in the world," Rob M. of West Virginia told us, "but I expect the church to stand for something."

Looking for absolutes

Because almost nine out of 10 formerly unchurched told us that doctrine was the major factor in their choosing a church, we delved further into this issue. "Why," we asked, "is doctrine so important to you?" The most frequent response was a desire to know truth or absolutes.

Janet D. is a stay-at-home mom living in the Cincinnati area. She was raised in a home with no church background, and said her parents are "friendly agnostics." Janet's parents never communicated any particular sense of truth to her.

"I'm just not sure on what authority they base their values," she said.

Janet and Lyle were married seven years ago, and they now have two sons. Janet expressed to Lyle her desire to find for their children some type of environment that had a clearly defined value system. Lyle had grown up occasionally attending a Southern Baptist church across the Ohio River in Kentucky. An affable fellow, according to Janet, Lyle was glad to help her on this quest.

"I began my search for truth under the guise that my kids needed clear boundaries," Janet said. "But the search was really for me." Neither Janet nor Lyle were Christians at this point.

Janet described the frustration of her upbringing: "My parents didn't have a clue. The schools I attended, from kindergarten to college, almost seemed to have a disdain for absolutes. And all the friends I hung around with were as clueless as I was. Here I was 29 years old, and I felt like a kid lost in a big store."

Naturally religion and churches were on Janet's mind as paths to pursue. But she did not know where to turn. She was fortunate. The first church she and Lyle visited gave her the answers she had been seeking. "God must have been looking after me. I could have gone a thousand different ways. But I just remembered seeing this church from the Interstate and thinking that it looked nice," she reflected.

The church of choice was a warm, evangelical, nondenominational community church. Attendance was about 600, and the church put a lot of resources into its children's ministry. Both Matt and Brett, Janet and Lyle's sons, instantly connected with the church. And Janet knew she had found the perfect place right away.

"It was unbelievable. The church made clear their positions on doctrinal issues in their publications. Pastor Eric spoke clearly about the church's position in his sermon. I had to decide that either all of the people at the church were deluded or that I had found the answers I was seeking. I chose the latter."

Janet and Lyle accepted Christ a few weeks later. Doctrine had brought them to the church, and it keeps them there today. Frankly, most of the stories we heard from the formerly unchurched are not like Janet's story. Most of those we interviewed did not understand explicitly that they were searching for absolutes as they visited churches.

Selena T., for example, was one of those rare cases in which her husband became a Christian before she did -- six months earlier to be exact. She started attending the worship services to be with her husband, and she was immediately impacted by the pastor's sermons.

"Jeff is an incredible preacher," Selena said. "His style of preaching and delivery is good, but the content of his sermons is great. I began listening carefully to his words and realized that I had never really considered what I believed about God or eternal matters.

"More than anything else, I became a Christian because I was drawn to a church that taught clearly the Word of God. That's why I answered in the first interview that I identified with the beliefs of the church."

Plainly, a clear and constant stance on doctrine was important to the formerly unchurched in their decision to attend and to eventually join a church. But as we will see, it is not the doctrine alone that attracted the formerly unchurched.

Join us next week as we see that certitude plays a big role as well.