{"id":273,"date":"2011-08-19T13:17:57","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T13:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/preacherskid\/?p=273"},"modified":"2011-08-21T23:04:07","modified_gmt":"2011-08-21T23:04:07","slug":"church-attendance-where-have-all-the-christians-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/preacherskid\/2011\/08\/church-attendance-where-have-all-the-christians-gone.html","title":{"rendered":"Church attendance: Where have all the ‘Christians’ gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Barna: Church attendance down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to keeping a statistical finger on evangelical Christianity, the Barna Group really has no peers. So, when George Barna and Co. tells you that church attendance is down nationwide, well, it is.<\/em><\/p>\n

In a survey released earlier this month, Barna found that church attendance among women \u2013 long the more faithful of the genders \u2013 has dipped 11 percent since 1991<\/em><\/a> to where today 42 percent of them attend religious services. Men, meanwhile, dropped six points to just 36 percent.<\/p>\n

Oddly enough, Barna also found that the percentage of men and women who qualify themselves as \u201cborn again\u201d Christians \u2013 <\/em>defined by researchers as believing \u201cthey will experience eternal salvation based on their commitment to Jesus Christ, personal confession of sins, and acceptance of Christ as their savior\u201d<\/em> \u2013 rose five points between 1991 and today.<\/p>\n

Nationally, 40 percent of Americans claim the \u201cborn again\u201d label (other studies show 76 percent of Americans consider themselves more generic Christians, at least nominally).<\/p>\n

So, if this segment of Christianity, i.e. the \u201cborn again\u201d and\/or evangelical wing, is showing growth, why aren\u2019t they going to church?<\/em> The answer to that question depends on what you mean by \u201cchurch.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
House church movement growing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A growing number of Christians are turning away from large congregations and traditional church buildings toward the growing \u201chouse church movement<\/a>,\u201d<\/em> preferring smaller, more intimate gatherings of believers. Barna also looked at that trend recently, and found when survey respondents were asked if they had \u201cattended a worship service in someone\u2019s home, known as a house church,\u201d<\/em> 10 percent <\/a>said they had done so within the past month. Make that time period a year long and the affirmative answer jumped to 13 percent.<\/p>\n

Other believers are choosing to \u201cattend\u201d online churches<\/a><\/em>, whether they consist of video streams of live services in actually brick-and-mortar churches, or are solely based in cyberspace. Worship, music, even tithing and offerings can be done online; fellowship occurs with live chats or discussion forums and email. (Imagine the savings on hand sanitizers . . .)<\/em><\/p>\n

I guess I\u2019m old fashioned. I like the idea that people are at least participating, albeit in a way that misses the spirituality of congregational (i.e. actually living, breathing human beings elbow to elbow, handshakes and hugs<\/em>) worship. Attend church from you keyboard, tablet PC or smartphone? Good for you . . . but try human contact, too. Sure, it has its risks \u2013 but it is more, what, real?<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m less perplexed by the house church idea. In fact, I kind of like it. After all, this is how Christians of the First Century \u2013 and millions today in China and many Muslim countries where professing Christian faith is physically dangerous \u2013 met and shared community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sometimes, you just needto give, or receive a hug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The point is, to be Christian is<\/em> to be part of a body of believers.<\/a> It\u2019s not all <\/em>there is to being a Christian, or \u201cChrist-like,\u201d of course. But gathering regularly is an expression of love for God, and for those we claim as brothers and sisters; meeting together can reaffirm commitment to faith and each other; and corporate worship can be powerful, like the old hymn Blest Be The Tie That Binds<\/em><\/a>\u00a0Remember this? \u201c<\/em>Blest be the tie that binds, Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. . . .\u201d<\/em>).<\/p>\n

And attending\/fellowshiping complies with the scriptural admonition: \u201dAnd let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.\u201d <\/em>(Hebrews 10:25 New Living Translation).<\/p>\n

So, there\u2019s that<\/em>. And if you take this whole Christian<\/em> thing seriously, well, fellowship just doesn\u2019t seem an option. Not going to church \u2013 however you define it<\/em> \u2013 won\u2019t see you roasting in hell, as it were, but avoiding other believers (however obnoxious, how . . . human they are<\/em>) seems a rather clear no-no.<\/p>\n

As a preacher\u2019s kid, I know very (very, very<\/em>) well the temptation to just write off the sizeable bunch of self-righteous, fiber-deprived, church-going Christians whose hypocrisy can turn your spiritual (and sometimes physical<\/em>) belly.<\/p>\n

Indeed, my Dad, the preacher, often would despair of the downright ornery-ness of his flock, musing that if, as believers, we were all a\u00a0part of the Body of Christ,<\/em> then ministers must be at the end where the church\u2019s spiritual intestines emptied.<\/em><\/p>\n

But, after saying that, he\u2019d sigh, smile and add: \u201cBobby, don\u2019t look at people in church. A lot of them are just plain nuts. Keep your eyes on Jesus.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Yep. We all need a savior. I mean, we really, really<\/em> do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to keeping a statistical finger on evangelical Christianity, the Barna Group really has no peers. So, when George Barna and Co. tells you that church attendance is down nationwide, well, it is. In a survey released earlier this month, Barna found that church attendance among women \u2013 long the more faithful of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148,84,128,8,91,87,5,7,9,3,1],"tags":[28,255,258,257,256],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-christ","category-evangelical","category-faith","category-forgiveness","category-judgment","category-pentecostal","category-pop","category-prayer","category-pks","category-uncategorized","tag-church","tag-church-attendance","tag-home-churches","tag-house-church","tag-online-church"],"yoast_head":"\nChurch attendance: Where have all the 'Christians' gone? - Preacher\u2019s Kid: Honest Faith, Real World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/preacherskid\/2011\/08\/church-attendance-where-have-all-the-christians-gone.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Church attendance: Where have all the 'Christians' gone? - Preacher\u2019s Kid: Honest Faith, Real World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When it comes to keeping a statistical finger on evangelical Christianity, the Barna Group really has no peers. 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