Presenting...the Present.

It would seem that at this point in the life of the church that we are awash in what I like to call “happy talk.” You know what I’m talking about? Somebody in church asks “How are you?” And you say “fine”

… right after you just severed a limb.

Does your church talk “happy talk?” Churches do this all the time. We tell ourselves that everything is ok, we’re doing just great. Sure, we’re down a little in attendance, but this is just a part of the new normal. And really what’s up with numbers anyways?

Yes, numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they do tell a story. Here's a story:

In 1990* there were 1,043,943 church members in DOC churches. There were also 681,246 participating members and 327,459 in worship on a Sunday. By 2008 it looks a bit different: 681,480 members, 435, 070 participating members, and 221,600 in worship. Roughly, that’s a 35% decline in membership; a 36% decline in participating members; and a 32% decline in worship attendance. All in the last two decades.

We’ve lost a third. What story does that tell? And worse yet, it would seem that most of our churches are aging rapidly so this trend is likely to accelerate.

There are those who will say “But Michael, it’s not all about numbers, we’re growing spiritually.”

Ok.

You’re getting spiritually fulfilled. Yay, you. Meanwhile the numbers show that the church as a whole is slowly and inexorably declining. You, 1 – Body of Christ, 0.

For those of us charged with growing a congregation so that it might be a witness for Christ to another generation of people, these numbers are something of a problem. I also have the feeling that if we were, as a people, truly spiritually growing - then the numbers wouldn't actually be declining.



*No significance here, the ‘91 yearbook was on my desk.