Why We Need to Plant New Churches… Nationwide

According to the January, 1996 Gallup Princeton Religion Report, there are an estimated 195 million unchurched in the United States. During the last ten years the total combined membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.55%, nearly 4.5 million people, while the population of the U.S. increased by 11.4%, or more than 24 million.(4)

In 1991, 49% of those polled said they attended church regularly. In 1996, only 37% said they did.(5)

Evangelical churches have failed to gain an additional two percent of the American population in the past fifty years.(6) In other words, we are not even reaching our children!

No county in America has a greater percentage of churched persons today than a decade ago and half of all churches did not add one new member through "conversion growth" last year.(7)

Add to this the estimate that churches lose 2,765,000 people to nominalism and secularism each year, and between 3,500 to 4,000 churches close their doors each year for the last time (10.27 per day, 72.11 per week); while only 1,100-1,500 churches are started each year (3.42 per day, 24.03 per week).(8)

The church in post-Christian America is seemingly losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people. North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing.(9)

Tom Clegg, National Director of Church Planting for the Open Bible Standard Churches says, "What once was the number one sending nation of foreign missionaries is now the thirteenth largest receptor nation." (10)

(1) Dan Grether, A Brief Look at the Harvest, 1999. (2) Dan Grether, A Look at the Harvest, 1999. Available from dgrether@soar.com (3) David Garrison, Church Planting Movements (4) Charles Arn, ASCG Journal of Church Growth, Autumn, 1996. (5) George Barna, Church In The World Today. (6) George Barna, American Profile. (7) Arn, op. cit. (8) Ibid. (9) George Gallup, Church In The World Today. (10) Thomas T. Cleg, paper entitled The Need for Church Planting in America, 1996. (Note: Each of the above references (#1-6) were cited in this paper.) (11) Charles Ridley, adapted from How To Select Church Planters,1988, Fuller Evangelistic Association

Yes it is troubling about the young people especially.

I have read that, as a group, the children and teenagers with the fewest problems as they grow up are those who go to church,and get involved in church youth programs. That’s amazing to think about. With all of the social pathologies that our young people fall prey to, one of the best remedies is church youth programs and church involvement.

The securlarists are afraid of advocating for young people to go to church because they are afraid they might be exposed to something that might cause them to want to learn more about religious faith or Jesus. They tend to criticize faith based initiatives such as advocated by Bush because they don’t want to admit that there is anything beneficial about religion.

The assessment is probably on target. However, I would be cautious as to arrive at any conclusion from data that is generally a decade old. There are other factors at play. As for churches closing, much of that relates to ethnic and racial changes as much as increasing secularism. There are few minority group members who are Lutherans or Presbyterians, for example. Gentrification can take a toll as well. An urban neighborhood that was made up of white Catholic blue collar workers 30 years ago may now be filled with young professional singles and couples who have purchased the homes of the former residents, who have passed on or moved to the suburbs. Additionally, much of the country's population growth stems from immigration, legal or not. A huge number of these immigrants are non-Christians (most Asians who are not Korean or Filipino) or nominal ones (the majority of Latin immigrants).

The core point, that evangelicals and other Christians have not retained most of the children raised in their churches, is probably correct. However, better support for the argument is needed.

It won’t do any good to plant new Christian churches, if we keep on handing our kids over to the secular humanist churches for 30 hours a week! If we don’t believe in our own faith passionately enough to raise our children in it, evangelistic crusades are exercises in hypocrisy. If secular humanism is good enough for our kids, why recommend Christianity to our neighbors?

Yes, the "youts" aren't as Christian as the previous generation, and that's a concern.

Do not equate "churched" with believers, though. George Barna's research found significant numbers of believers (he says about 30%) who no longer attend church because they want a DEEPER spiritual relationship with God. They engage in "home groups," Bible studies, and a wide variety of other activities that don't fall under the traditional definition of "church." So yes, some of these numbers are troubling, but they don't tell the whole story.

1/3 of those raised in the Catholic faith leave the Church.

Many of those return later in life when they get wiser.

The only reason the Catholic Church has gained adherents is via immigration

A fatuous, specious statement.

Hmmmm...could it have something to do with the perception that American churches have nothing to do with faith? Might it be that American churches are all about control, milking their congregations for money, and using that same money to fund their pet socialist, anti-American agendas? And maybe, just maybe, a good portion of Americans are sick and tired of this?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Disbelieve no longer!

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Young people turn against their parents' 'church lite'
Pope calls US Church to repentance and renewal

A father for the 11th time - Widower becomes Catholic priest
Number of Adults Who Don't Attend Church Service Doubles
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Thousands take final steps toward joining church
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This Catholic church is born again (Evangelical approach helps attendance soar)
400 local (Palm Beach) Catholic converts enter new faith
Baptism of adults increasing steadily in France

The number of young parishioners growing in the Russian Church
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Six million African Muslims leave Islam per year
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U.S. Catholic population up (nears 70 million), most other church data down
Once-great churches are falling apart
Churchmen on brink of exodus over women bishops
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From pulpit to monastery (Presbyterian (female) pastor becomes Catholic)

The worst of times: Evangelicalism in critical condition
Six theologians cross the Tiber
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Catholic Diocese of Orlando lays out major growth plan (proposes 15 more parishes, 5 new schools)
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Ex-Lutheran bishop found Catholic rock: Joseph Jacobson to be ordained Catholic priest by Christmas
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The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism
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Catholic decline stabilizing in Brazil
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Flock increasing; priests dwindling (Richmond VA)
Study: Recent grads [SBC seminary] 3 times more likely to be Calvinists
Britain has become a 'Catholic country'
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Muslims outnumber Catholics

It's official: 57,572 left PCUSA in 2007 [open]

North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing.(9)

(Ignoring Antarctica) It's growing in Europe?

That there are 195 million unreached in the USA says that the non-Christian group is twice as large as the Christian group.

The nominally Christian group.

Any chance you've read David Wells' The Courage to be Protestant?

If we were to follow the model Jesus left for the church we would be doing just that; constantly planting new churches...

There are plenty of churches in the USA. The problem is that nobody goes to them. Putting up a new church in a town where everyone is "unchurched" is not going to accomplish a thing unless the new church is dedicated to making disciples of Christ and taking the gospel message to the world. It will not only do no good to try to bring the "unchurched" into a dead church, it is worse than leaving these people "unchurched". Feeding the "unchurched" a watered down gospel or substituting a social gospel for a saving gospel is worse than no gospel at all. If you feed them a watered down or social gospel they will eventually become innoculated against the real thing.

Don't plant new churches until you have enough solid Christians to fill them. When your church is bursting at the seams with too many solid Christian believers, and the parking lot is overcrowded and you are getting complaints from neighbors, then (and only then) should you consider planting a new church.

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