Fooling ourselves

 

This is an article Ed Stetzer shared on his facebook site, and I wanted to talk about it with you.

Personally I believe is a shame to blame the lack of births for our decline. We have more people living in today’s world than ever! What we have is a lack of love for our world and passion for Christ.

What do you think?

 

 

Churches blame empty pews on fewer babies

Denominations see membership drop as boomers age

By Bob Smietana • THE TENNESSEAN • March 8, 2009

Too many old people.  Not enough babies.

That’s what almost every major Christian denomination in the United States has in common — from Southern Baptists to Missouri Synod Lutherans.

In fact, 21 of the 25 largest groups in the United States reported a decline or flat line in membership last year, according to the 2009 edition of the Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. In most cases, the so-called birth dearth is the reason.

Carl Royster, a Church of Christ statistician, says that churches are seeing the aftereffects of the baby boom.

For example, in the mid-20th century, conservative groups like the Southern Baptists and Church of Christ saw their membership spike. “You had humongous growth in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s,” Royster said. “Now, the baby boomers are beginning to die off.”

Those boomers had fewer kids than their parents, leaving fewer descendants to replace them in the pews.

Royster said that he’s not panicking about the church decline. But he’s worried about the future.

“The sky is not falling yet,” he said. “But in a few years, it might be.”

Paul Prill, professor of communication at Lipscomb University and the part-time preacher at Acklen Avenue Church of Christ, says the congregation once averaged about 120 but fell to 50 when kids in the church grew up and moved away and older members became too frail to attend.

In recent years, young married couples settling in the area have begun returning, at a trickle’s pace, bringing the congregation back to about 80 members.

But it’s a slow process, Prill said.

“It’s hard to reach people who are in their 20s and are not going to church,” he said.

Trend hits conservatives

Until recently, the membership decline had affected mostly mainline Protestant denominations, like Episcopalians and Methodists. Now the nation’s two largest groups, Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics, are watching their numbers drop. In the 2009 Yearbook, Roman Catholics lost about 398,000 members, or 0.59 percent. Southern Baptists lost
about 40,000 members, or 0.24 percent.