I went to a Easter service from a denomination that has a spiraling downward situation. My cousin...who is the minister...kinda points out that they are lucky to have 130 members show up each Sunday. If you probably went back to the 1970s...they had around 300 members. My impression is that folks are looking for a reason to quit a church...and it doesn’t take an awful lot to convince them to drop out.
Pc usa is generally more liberal from what I have read which doesn’t help. I know our PCA church with a real conservative message coupled with contemporary praise music has a 15-20% annual growth rate.
Dave Shifflett wrote a great book “Exodus: Why Conservative Christians are Fleeing Liberal Churches” and discusses how many people feel no need to show up and hear the same value/moral system they can get from a t.v. sitcom. They go to church to hear God’s word. His real word, not some liberal’s new age take on His word.
CBF (liberal baptist) churches tend to lose numbers quickly, also. We visited my husband’s home church in a rapidly growing area (Fort Myers, FL) and they were down to 70 people (including the 7 of us visiting) in a church that seats 350+ (and used to be full). Liberal mush is what they are preaching. The conservative baptist church down the street was building a third sanctuary while the liberal (cbf) baptist church had only a few elderly who refused to give the church over to loft apartments. Social gospel and anti-racism sermons are the norm - like a bunch of hippies stuck in the 60’s.
This is nothing new. I was a Member and left YEARS ago (I was 20) over similar stunts.