---
title: Why pastors are turning to big data  - The Hustle
description: With church attendance on the decline, pastors are turning to Big Data to help fill the pews.
image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/430874933-News-Brief_2022-01-05T042102.275Z.webp
---

# Why pastors are turning to big data

![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit)

Published:  January 05, 2022

Updated:  October 11, 2023

Once upon a time, church was a staple of American life.

![Why pastors are turning to big data](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/430874933-News-Brief_2022-01-05T042102.275Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=430874933-News-Brief_2022-01-05T042102.275Z.webp)

Today, that’s no longer the case. A recent Pew poll [reported](https://www.pewforum.org/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/) ~30% of US adults do not affiliate themselves with a specific religion.

Churches are feeling the absence and, per *The Wall Street Journal*, [using](https://www.wsj.com/articles/churches-new-members-personal-online-data-analytics-gloo-11640310982) Big Data to drive people back to the pews.

#### **One of the companies helping…**

… is Gloo, a 200-person tech company in Colorado that uses personal data to help churches identify individuals that could be ripe for recruitment.

The company has signed on **30k** customers, which makes up ~10% of churches in the US.

Gloo’s platform builds web ads optimized for specific search terms on Google and social media, and directs searchers to a web page connecting them to a local church.

#### **What kind of search terms, you ask?**

Namely, topics that could signal an individual going through a personal crisis, including:

- Marriage difficulties
- Anxiety or depression
- Drug addiction

While the practice may sound questionable at best – to be fair – Gloo isn’t the only one. Churches have been using Facebook to target people in distress for years.

#### **If it still makes you feel icky…**

… you’re not alone. Wunderman Thompson – one of Gloo’s data providers – recently terminated its contract after the partnership was made public.

For its part, Gloo claims it no longer uses mental health data to target individuals, and contends all 3rd-party data is anonymized.

The lesson? When working in a moral gray area, you better be ready to prove you’re doing so in good faith.

Topics: [Religion](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/religion)

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