Statistics
and Reasons for Church Decline, by Dr. Richard J. Krejcir
Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give
careful attention to your herds. Proverbs
27:23
For
the last 15 plus years, we, at the Francis
A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development (FASICLD)
in partnership with Into Thy Word
Ministries (another Francis Schaeffer vision), have been in
careful, steadfast research in quest of "why so many churches are
failing."
What the Statistics Tell Us - This quest started in 1992 as a Fuller Institute project that
was picked up by FASICLD in
1998, seeking what had happened and why the bride of Christ was in decline.
God's marvelous Church has become culturally irrelevant and even distant from
is prime purpose of knowing Him, growing in Him, and worshipping Him by making
disciples! This is evidenced by what is going on in our culture and in our
church.
Most
of the statistics tell us that nearly 50% of Americans have no church home. In
the 1980s, membership in the church had dropped almost 10%; then, in the 1990s,
it worsened by another 12% drop-some denominations reporting a 40% drop in their membership. And now, over half way through
the first decade of the 21st century, we are seeing the figures
drop even more!
What is Going on with the Church in America? The United States Census Bureau Records
give some startling statistics, backed up by denominational reports and the
Assemblies of God U.S. Missions:
Every
year more than 4000 churches close their doors compared to just over 1000 new
church starts!
There
were about 4,500 new churches started between 1990 and 2000, with a twenty year
average of nearly 1000 a year.
Every
year, 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity. This translates into the
realization that people are leaving the church. From our research, we have
found that they are leaving as hurting and wounded victims-of some kind of
abuse, disillusionment, or just plain neglect!
From
1990 to 2000, the combined membership of all Protestant denominations in the
USA declined by almost 5 million members (9.5 percent), while the US population
increased by 24 million (11 percent).
At
the turn of the last century (1900), there was a ratio of 27 churches per
10,000 people, as compared to the close of this century (2000) where we have 11
churches per 10,000 people in America! What has happened?
Given
the declining numbers and closures of Churches as compared to new church
starts, there should have been over 38,000 new churches commissioned to keep up
with the population growth.
The
United States now ranks third (3rd) following China and India in the
number of people who are not professing Christians; in other words, the U.S. is
becoming an ever increasing "un-reached people group."
Half
of all churches in the US did not add any new members to their ranks in the
last two years.
So,
why do they leave-besides because of death? Why are they not coming?
More Startling Data - Between 1992 and 2002, 77% to 87% (160 million in 1992)
of Americans identified themselves as Christians in most studies. However, what
constitutes a Christian or a churchgoer is the question. One study that I did
between 1992 and 2002 had surprising results. I found that church attendance
may be half what those survey
results
stated.
Many
polls have indicated that the percentage of people who regularly attend a
church service in the United States is around 40% to 50%, 20% in Canada, and 8%
or less in Europe. But, when we started to count people from denominational
reports and compare to census data and University research data, the numbers
that were originally declared dropped by half!
22%
of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1992, including
Orthodox, Evangelical, or Protestant. (The reason why the other research is
variant is due to how they ask the questions. I sought frequency over just
attending. I deem frequency as at least 2 times a month as opposed to two to
three times a year indicated by other statistical research.)
20.5%
of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1995
19%
of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1999
18.0%
of Americans "frequently" attended in church in 2002.
Now,
by extrapolating the data and doing some statistical evaluation and adding some
hope for revival, we can see the figures drop to 15% of Americans in attendance
at a church by 2025, and a further drop to 11% or 12 % in 2050. Soon, we can
catch up with Europe, which is currently "enjoying" two to four
percent of its population in regular Church attendance. By the time these
predictions come to pass, Europe may have no significant Church presence at
all.
Comments
The goal to ruin US
churches is apparent in the American Communist Goals published in 1920.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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