A mixed-methods research program that identified four behavioral personas for church leaders, curriculum teachers, administrators, and small group leaders — connecting product and UX decisions at a major faith-based publisher to real ministry workflows and purchasing behaviors.
Lifeway's customers aren't a monolith. A senior pastor shopping for Sunday morning sermon resources behaves very differently from a Sunday school teacher managing quarterly curriculum orders — who behaves differently still from the church administrator purchasing supplies for five ministry departments at once.
Without a behavioral framework that captured these distinctions, product and design decisions were informed by assumptions rather than evidence. Search experiences, product pages, and ordering flows were built for an imagined "average customer" who didn't really exist.
This is a challenge many faith-based organizations and nonprofits face — making experience decisions without a shared, evidence-based understanding of who they're actually serving.
The research combined surveys, in-depth interviews, behavioral analytics, and session recordings to build a complete picture of Lifeway's existing ministry customers. This multi-source approach is essential for faith-based audiences — no single method captures the full range of how church leaders shop, decide, and purchase.
Phase 1 — Survey. An initial unmoderated survey gathered foundational data from 31 participants recruited via UserTesting and the existing customer base. The survey established demographics, roles, goals, pain points, purchasing habits, and competitive behavior — and identified candidates for follow-up interviews.
Phase 2 — Moderated Interviews. Eleven customers participated in moderated interviews via Zoom. Before each interview, FullStory session recordings of the participant's recent browsing sessions were reviewed — revealing actual on-site behavior that shaped each conversation and surfaced pain points the participants hadn't thought to mention.
Phase 3 — Analytics Synthesis. Adobe Analytics and FullStory data was combined with interview and survey findings in Miro to identify behavioral patterns across the participant pool. Four distinct ministry leader personas emerged from this synthesis.
Each persona is defined by role, responsibilities, shopping goals, key pain points, and a behavioral scenario — not just demographic data. These are the four existing customer personas that emerged from the research.
Older male, 50–60. Delegates purchasing but makes final decisions. Brand-loyal but frustrated with search results and rising prices. Wants scope and sequence for curriculum planning. Short on time and hates browsing.
Male, 30–40. Manages quarterly autoship orders. Struggles with bundle complexity, account switching, and not knowing group size in advance. Calls customer service frequently. Loyal to the brand and the curriculum.
Female, 30–50. Lifeway's power user. Researches and purchases for multiple ministry areas. Navigates multiple platforms and accounts. Filters aggressively and compares prices. Always excited about new releases.
Female, 25–45. Primarily mobile. Discovers resources through social media marketing. Reviews samples and videos before purchasing. Gets leadership approval before buying. Sensitive to price and shipping times.
All four personas expressed frustration with search results that felt Lifeway-prioritized rather than relevance-ranked. Consolidating similar products into single listings was a universal request.
Every persona mentioned price sensitivity and shipping costs — not as dealbreakers, but as friction points that drove comparison shopping at Amazon and Christianbook.com.
Despite frustrations, all personas expressed strong brand loyalty and theological trust in Lifeway — viewing the platform as a vetting system for doctrinally sound resources.
Promotional graphics, video samples, and scope-and-sequence documents were requested by every persona — simple assets that would ease workloads and reinforce purchasing decisions.
This is what a research program setup engagement looks like in practice — building the infrastructure that connects user evidence to product decisions across an organization.
Before this research, the phrase "our users" was used broadly in design reviews and product discussions without a shared definition of who those users actually were. After the persona system was delivered, teams had a common vocabulary and a behavioral framework to reference when making decisions.
The personas were used in subsequent research studies as screener criteria, ensuring future studies recruited participants who matched real ministry customer types. They also informed how marketing approached segment-specific messaging for curriculum launch campaigns.
Does your organization need a clearer picture of who you're serving? Let's talk about building a persona system for your team.
A behavioral persona system connecting ministry roles, motivations, and purchasing decisions — adopted across product, design, and marketing to guide experience decisions for church leaders and ministry staff.