Some disturbing stats

Wed, Apr 23, 2008

A new study shows “22 percent of Americans say they NEVER (emphasis mine) go to church, the highest percentage ever recorded by the General Social Survey, conducted every two years by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago” - and that is up from 17 percent in 2004.

A recent cover of Rev! magazine stated that, “only 52 million people, or 17.3 percent of the U.S. population, are in church - that’s down from the traditionally recognized 40 percent participation rated suggested by the Gallup Organization and The Barna Group.

Quotes taken from the Christian Standard, Special Annual Report Issue, April 13, 2008, pg. 7.

These stats are extremely disturbing to me. They disturb me because somehow Churches are loosing the battle. Alan Hirsch has said that the American Church must move from a church that is attractional based (meaning “you come to us to find out what we know”) to missional based (meaning missionaries who go out and try and share what they know in the context of relationships). I think he is right. The time has come to GO, the time has come in our society to be in our communities making a difference. To let our conversations be seasoned with the salt of the Gospel. To serve the poor!

I personally am praying for a revolution to take place in the Church - the declining American Church. A revolution of love & service, one that lets go of power and manipulation. One that feeds the Gospels burning fire!

Tags: Church Planting, Disconnected People, Mission, Vision

2 Comments For This Post

Nattyman Says:
April 25th, 2008 at 10:01 am

I could be completely wrong here, you have researched this much more than I, but I wonder if these stats don’t mean that Christianity is on the decline but rather fake Christianity is. By that I mean there have been and still are many Churches out there that have been dead for years, maybe for generations. They have become more like social clubs. I think once the Spirit has left the church that glue is no longer there to hold it together, so eventually they are likely to fade away. So the chaff is gone but the wheat still remains. I think that revolution that you talk about is taking place. I think that people are seeing through the shallowness that has infiltrated much of the Church and they are seeking that depth of the true Gospel, the one that you just called “a revolution of love and service, one that lets go of power and manipulation”.

epic Says:
April 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am

I think fake Christianity is probably staying pretty stable. As far as that study goes, I’m pretty sure they were taking an across the board look at Churches, so yeah, it probably is a lot of Churches that were dying are now dead. I do think there are the rumblings of the revolution it is in it’s anarchy stage almost - declaring the old system inadequate. I’m not sure thought that it is doing a much better job yet than the old system. I’m not sure that people who are disconnected from God will do much better having deep discussions about theology & the postmodern (if that’s the right word) development of Christianity. I do feel the movement will be grass roots. I feel like it will have a wave that comes from people sold out to every aspect of the Gospel, not just evangelism - but taking care of the poor and challenging the rich.

The problem at the end of the day is we all need to quit talking as much and serve more. How bout, I need to quit talking so much and serve more, live the Gospel more, challenge more.

The Gospel is the power to salvation! It is an old thought but relevant as ever in our busy, multitasking, no time for anything world.

Nattyman Says:
April 25th, 2008 at 10:01 am
I could be completely wrong here, you have researched this much more than I, but I wonder if these stats don’t mean that Christianity is on the decline but rather fake Christianity is. By that I mean there have been and still are many Churches out there that have been dead for years, maybe for generations. They have become more like social clubs. I think once the Spirit has left the church that glue is no longer there to hold it together, so eventually they are likely to fade away. So the chaff is gone but the wheat still remains. I think that revolution that you talk about is taking place. I think that people are seeing through the shallowness that has infiltrated much of the Church and they are seeking that depth of the true Gospel, the one that you just called “a revolution of love and service, one that lets go of power and manipulation”.
epic Says:
April 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I think fake Christianity is probably staying pretty stable. As far as that study goes, I’m pretty sure they were taking an across the board look at Churches, so yeah, it probably is a lot of Churches that were dying are now dead. I do think there are the rumblings of the revolution it is in it’s anarchy stage almost - declaring the old system inadequate. I’m not sure thought that it is doing a much better job yet than the old system. I’m not sure that people who are disconnected from God will do much better having deep discussions about theology & the postmodern (if that’s the right word) development of Christianity. I do feel the movement will be grass roots. I feel like it will have a wave that comes from people sold out to every aspect of the Gospel, not just evangelism - but taking care of the poor and challenging the rich.

The problem at the end of the day is we all need to quit talking as much and serve more. How bout, I need to quit talking so much and serve more, live the Gospel more, challenge more.

The Gospel is the power to salvation! It is an old thought but relevant as ever in our busy, multitasking, no time for anything world.