The number of unchurched people is growing steadily. Why? Here are some statistics from the Barna Group:
How Many?
- There has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years. In 1991 there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million currently. (2004)
- 7 out of 10 protestants age 18-30 have dropped out of church by age 23.
- 34% said that they had not returned even sporadically by age 30.
- 22% moved away from their church
- 22% wanted to spend more time with friends away from church.
- 27% wanted a break from church
- 51% said churchgoers were judgmental
- 44% used the word hypocritical
- 41% said church members were insincere
- 58% were unhappy with the members or the pastor
Beliefs
- 64% of the unchurched say that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil. (2006)
- 63% of unchurched adults state that a good person can earn his or her way into Heaven. (2006)
- Slightly less than half (48%) of the unchurched define God as the perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who continues to rule His creation today. (2006)
- 51% of the unchurched assert that when Jesus Christ lived on earth, He committed sins. (2006)
- 27% of the unchurched firmly believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches. (2006)
- 18% of people said that completely understanding and carrying out the principles of their faith was the highest priority in their lives. (14% of men versus 18% of women) (2005)
Why are people so unhappy with church? At various times in my life I have been unhappy with church as well. I have always loved God but not always loved church. From the stats above I see that I haven't been alone. I’ve always wanted church to be a good place. A place where you can feel God’s touch and have a sense of family. It hasn’t always been that way. There have been times I felt that not even the Pastor cared about my life. There are two large reasons that I have always gone to church even when I didn’t want to: one is that I knew that God had a great pure love for me, the other is the power of the Holy Ghost. God gave me something that no church ever could. It is still powerful in my life today. As I read many of the reasons that people stopped going to church I realized that they had not experienced this truly life changing power. If you haven’t experienced the fulness of God you can because He loves you with a pure love and wants to be an important part of your life.
So, how do we make church a place that people actually want to be? If you don't like church tell me why. I look forward to your comments!
2 comments:
I think many (not all) church leaders today are just teaching people to be followers of them instead of discipling them to be leaders (like themselves) for the Kingdom of God. Somehow people are getting the wrong idea about pastors, and have actually placed them in their life where God should be. And then leaders, though it may be unintentional, begin to like that dependency that the people have on them, which causes them to be come controlling and manipulative. People need to be taught RELATIONSHIP with God...and taught HOW TO BE LED BY THE SPIRIT and to KNOW GOD'S VOICE. I find that people try to live off what they receive at church each week and never seek God themselves in the privacy of their home, thus never allowing growth and never knowing His voice for themselves. What will they do when a day comes where they can't get to church, or they are forbidden to assemble with others, or when the Pastor is one day NOT there for them? I do not hate church....I just do not believe in the one man leadership and find it unbiblical. Jesus never told us to GO TO CHURCH...He called us TO BE THE CHURCH. We are guilty of putting God in a box and not allowing Him to be much more a part of our lives beyond the four walls of "the church". Right now, my family occasionally visits a church, but mostly have Home Church Fellowship, where it is more open, honest, comfortable, where we can truly KNOW someone, and everyone is allowed to have a voice...and people can be encouraged to seek God for their gifts to be used for the edifying of others. Okay. I've rambled enough and sort of jumbled all my thoughts together. ha ha ha.
Great work.
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