What sets regular churchgoers and nonchurchgoers apart? Their differences aren't all that stark, and they aren't the antagonistic, argumentative bunch that some Christians peg them to be.

"Because many church leaders and members have such misperceptions about them, churches often fail to reach them, or even attempt to reach them," Thom Rainer, President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, wrote on his website, referring to Christians who do not go to church.

LifeWay Research conducted a study on 2,000 of these unchurched Christians in partnership with Billy Graham Center for Evangelism in Wheaton. The "unchurched," as defined, are people who have not attended worship service in the past six months.

Rainer and his team discovered five surprising truths about the unchurched. First, most of them have some church background. "Contrary to some perceptions, the great majority of unchurched have a church background. Almost two-thirds of them (62 percent) went to church regularly as a child," he said.

Next, most unchurched quit church because they got out of the habit of going to church. A number of them left the church for negative reasons, but majority simply quit because they felt like quitting.

Third, one-third of the unchurched actually have plans to return to church in the future. Rainer said this is good enough reason for the church to actively invite them and get them interested.

Fourth, the unchurched are actually very open to gospel conversation. "Nearly half (47 percent) would interact freely in such a conversation. Another third (31 percent) would listen actively without participating," shared Rainer.

He said it's time that Christians stop using the "poor excuse" that the unchurched aren't really interested in gospel conversations, because in reality, it is the church members themselves who are not interested in initiating gospel conversations.

Lastly, Rainer said if Christians invite the unchurched to attend worship services, they will definitely come. "Among the unchurched, 55 percent said they would attend church if invited by a family member. And 51 percent said they would attend church if invited by a friend or neighbor. These numbers are staggering. The opportunities are incredible."

Rainer said this is an incredible opportunity that the church must take, wondering just how many will even seize this God-given moment.