New Research Shows U.S. Population Growing Faster than Church

[Rhys]

From http://world.christianpost.com/article.htm?aid=25376&dat=20061018:

"the northeastern part of the country is the only region where the church is growing faster than the population while no state has seen a net increase in the percentage of church attendance in the last five years" (I believe the northeast is losing population!).

"the evangelical church is growing fastest among the higher income, college-educated, suburban population, while declining fastest among the least educated and in areas with the highest poverty rates." "The evangelical church is becoming suburban, affluent, and educated,"

As the US birth rate is just slightly over enough to keep the population stable (2.13) but the population just hit 300 million it is apparent that ALL US population growth is coming from immigration (both legal and illegal). The majority of recent immigrants aren't "suburban, affluent, and educated".

Therefore it would seem that the church is concentrating its efforts in the wrong area and that is why we are not growing while the population is. What are your thoughts on this and what should the church be doing?

[Soldier4Christ]

Witnessing for the Lord to ALL that are lost.


Jam 2:3  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Jam 2:4  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

[nChrist]

I would agree with what's already been said, but I want to add a couple of observations.

Many churches support missionaries all over the world, and that MUST continue. However, it is becoming more clear by the day that we need missionaries in our own countries in this part of the world. I'm not sure that I understand all of this, but I would suspect that many churches are changing what really worked well in years past. As an example, we have people in our own countries who need food, clothing, and shelter. As a general observation, I don't think that our churches are doing nearly as good a job in these areas as they did in years past.

I would also make a general observation that most churches aren't doing a very good job with outreach-type programs for people who are suffering with alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and all kinds of other problems. I am well aware that many outreach programs like this involve getting dirty and maybe even exposure to danger, but these types of problems didn't stop volunteers in the past. Many of these more local missions are described in the Bible, and they should not be neglected.

Examples:

1 - Does someone or a group from your church regularly visit area jails and prisons? The people in our jails and prisons nearly all have families, and many of them have needs that aren't addressed. Christians should know that most jails and prisons have procedures to allow preaching and handing out Godly materials. One should expect some red tape and officials checking anything that you want to carry inside these facilities.

2 - Does someone or a group from your church regularly visit those who are sick or in the hospital? I would first be talking about members of the congregation, but I would also be talking about people in the hospital who are unknown to your church. Again, there would probably be some red tape and some reasonable procedures to use. Maybe you just want to drop off some Gospel tracts or other Godly material to read while they are in the hospital.

3 - Does someone or a group from your church occasionally visit residents in the general area of your church? Please note that a permit might be required in many locations to go door to door in visiting people. Some locals might even require a criminal background check for each person getting a permit. Maybe this would involve little more than talking to them for a few minutes and inviting them to church. But, it could also include handing out tracts and other materials with a church stamp on the materials. Again, many locations require a permit to hand out handbills, fliers, and other materials. Many locations have laws against placing materials under windshield wipers in parking lots or leaving materials attached to the door or outside of the home. Also, please know that it's always against the law to place materials in mail-boxes.

I think that the main point I want to make is there are people in our own countries who need missionaries. There are many people in our own cities and neighborhoods who need assistance and who absolutely NEED JESUS! Please - I'm not even hinting that we should reduce the support for our missionaries who are serving all over the world. I'm talking about additional work and services in our own cities. Some people might feel like they have fulfilled their responsibilities by writing a check for their missionaries serving in Africa, etc., etc. "NO" would be my opinion on this issue. What have you personally done to help those with various needs, including those who simply need JESUS? Those who simply need JESUS are in desperate need, and many of them live in big, fancy houses and have much more food and clothing than they need. Every town and city in our countries have some of the same needs, and I think it is fairly apparent that those needs are NOT being met.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Acts 2:46-47 NASB  Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen Brother! We as Christians have been sitting back for too long expecting others to do the work. when I say others I don't mean just other members of our churches but all too often we also expect the government or secular organizations of various sorts to do the things that we as Christians should be doing. In this aspect we also loose a wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord and be a witness for Him.