This is not just a CRCNA issue, but a North America wide phenomena that is sweeping through ALL churches and has been documented since at least 2005 in research studies.
Looking at the numbers from the perspective of families is problematic when individuals who use to get married in their 20's today get married in their 30's, if at all. Moreover, those families also have fewer children today. My own research indicates that Yearbook membership numbers are out by approximately 25% - 30%, quite apart from the yearly drop in membership numbers.
Though the work of SPACT is helpful, I feel as if we are a community "inside a box" looking out, self referencing our analysis without really coming to grips with the socio-cultural changes occurring around us.
Individuals are disaffiliating from participation in institutional, community, and neighbourhood life. Though they may have personal reasons, there are broader philosophical changes afoot that consciously or unconsciously affect those decisions. Matters of the "common good" have been fractured into privatized relativistic worldviews making consensus in civic life ever more difficult.
Below are some references to articles on why "churches are losing members..."
Angus Reid 2013-12 Poll – Christmas – Religion
Barna Group 2003-09-24 Twenty somethings Struggle to Find Their Place in Christian Churches
Barna Group 2011-07-26 [Part1] Examines Trends in 14 Religious Factors over 20 Years (1991 to 2011)
Barna Group 2011-07-27 [Part2] Describes Religious Changes Among Busters, Boomers, and Elders Since 1991
Barna Group 2011-09-28 Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
Barna Group 2011-11-16 Five Myths about Young Adult Church Dropouts
Barna Group 2012-08-12 Christian Women Today – Parts 1 - 4
Barna Group 2013-05-09 Three Spiritual Journeys of Millennials
Barna Group 2013-09-17 Reasons Millennials Stay Connected to Church
Barna Group 2012-01-09 What People Experience in Churches
Beaty, Katelyn 2009-10 Lost In Transition. Christianity Today
Bellah, Robert 1986-02-20 Individualism & Commitment In American Life. Lecture, University of California
Chong, Shiao 2013-01-28 Relationship, Religion Or Both? Christian Courier
Coggins, Jim 2012-09-17 Why Canadian young people are leaving the church. Canadian Christianity
Dyck, Drew 2011-11-19 The Leavers – Young Doubters Exit The Church. Christianity Today
Evens, Rachel Held 2013 Why millennials are leaving the church. CNN Belief Blog
Greusel, David 2013-11-12 Yearning for community - or not. Think Christian
Kim, Steve Hemorrhaging Faith / A Brief Synopsis. Apologetics Canada
Kwon, Lillian 2011-04-22 Survey Reveals Decade – Long 'Erosion' of Traditional US Congregations - Hartford Institute
PEW 2010-02 Religion Among Millennials
PEW 2010-09-28 Religious Knowledge – Full Report
PEW 2011-03-09 For Millennials Parenthood Trumps Marriage
PEW 2011-12-14 Barely Half of U.S. Adults Are Married – A Record Low
PEW 2013-03-18 Decline Of Institutional Religion
PEW 2013-03 Lugo, Luis – The Decline Of Institutional Religion & Implications For American Civil Life
PEW 2013-06-27Canada’s Changing Religious Landscape | Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project
Pimblott, Kerry 2012-11-09 The Election and Why Millennials are Leaving the Church Margins. Blog marginalife
Postma, Gayla 2007-08 Where Did Our Young Adults Go – The Banner
Reimer, Sam Demographic Look At Evangelical Congregations 2010-08. EFC Church & Faith Trends
Roozen, David 2011 Decade Of Change In American Congregations 2000-2010 Faith Communities Today
Roozen, David 2013-12-03 Negative Numbers – The decline Narrative Reaches Evangelicals - The Christian Century
Smith, Christian 2005 Portraits Of Protestant Teens. National Study on Youth & Religion
Smith, Christian 2007-11&12 Getting a Life: The challenge of emerging adulthood. Books & Culture
Smith, Christian 2008 Religion & Spirituality On The Path Through Adolescence. National Study on Youth & Religion
State Of The Canadian Church 2008 Canadian Christianity
Thiessen, Joel 2010-12 Churches Are Not Necessarily The Problem. EFC Church & Faith Trends.pdf
Van Loon, Michelle 2013-08-08 Who Raised These Millennials Anyway? | Her.meneutics / Christianity Today
You are right about trends globally in the North and South, though I wonder if it is not more helpful to stand outside the church box if we are called to evangelize and disciple people to the Lord?
Does the observation "Complacency, apathy, lack of passion, lukewarmness, lack of trial and testing, lack of real committment, and affluence have all combined to reduce the desire of many for a God who saves and rules. The thorns and thistles of the world are reducing the yield of the Word sown" really capture the socio-cultural worldview we find ourselves living along side. Also, do the people living within this worldview really understand us when we talk this way?
David Roozen in his research article below might take issue with the MCA numbers, though he does indicate the Pentecostal/Holiness churches are holding their own.
Roozen, David 2013-12-03 "Negative Numbers – The decline Narrative Reaches Evangelicals" The Christian Century
We've grown up with the technology in some way or other, even myself at 65. In 1980 I walked into the workplace to a computer on my desk top and have watched things evolve as a librarian on the frontlines, as well as, initiating the roll out of social media on a corporate level.
Sometimes I feel the "world" possibly gets it right. I also have reservations about the insertion of social media into the communal worship/preaching process.
When you walk into the concert hall, movie theatre, board room, council room, staff meeting, etc. people are required to turn their devices off and engage with heart and mind on the task at hand.
We may need social media, but I'm not sure God does. Since worship is "communal" and not a lecture, tweeting, etc. to interact with the sermon is probably distracting to both the pastor and the body of Christ.
Don't want to throw a wrench into the works, however, serving on council also means sitting on a board of an incorporated NGO. State/Provincial legislation in this area usually requires one to be of legal voting age.
Consequently, the denomination needs to separate the matter of "profession of faith" from "membership in a society", i.e. church as a legal entity.
Maybe it's also about bringing our cultural freight into the process without asking whether the "communion of the saints" requires a counter cultural stance, i.e. being in the world, but not of the world. Are we molding the church to conform to the cultural values of the world we live in?
It is always difficult to obtain meaningful written commentary. Also, it is important to focus building on strengths and developing weaknesses. Below is an amended and shorten version of Calvin Seminary's evaluation form that has been used in our Elder meetings.
Sermon Response Form: Please fill out while your memory is still fresh
Interesting question. Concur on the 3 points, however, wonder at times whether the church is speaking into a vacuum to an ahistorical audience that has lost it's counter cultural bearings. Currently reading Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way by J.I. Packer & Gary A. Parrett. Recommend it.
Can a democratic multicultural societies exist without embedding civic virtues as "tolerance" or "pluralism" into the socio-political fabric?
The article above raises concerns about reopening the door to the Constantinian theocratic state and colonial imperialism in missions by framing the question this way. It is unnecessary.
Though I can appreciate the points regarding process, but process becomes problematic when one assumes everyone is working with the same underlying premises e.g. those on either end of the political spectrum. Process falls apart there are two quite separate religious worldviews at play within the Christian community, similar to engaging in ecumenical dialogue between Buddhists and Jews.
The question "should that negate us from singing their theologically sound songs" is a legitimate question. Though the article raises some important questions, it also implies a "guilt by association" theory that does not stand up to biblical notions of justice. The article could do with more discernment.
If Brian Houston, or Carl Lenz, are guilty of financial or sexual abuse does this mean that song writers, singers and the fellowships at Hillsong churches are complicit participants in their inappropriate actions?
Secondly, does unsound doctrine on the part of some, or even a denomination, mean the song is thereby scripturally unsound?
Posted in: When Churches Lose Members
This is not just a CRCNA issue, but a North America wide phenomena that is sweeping through ALL churches and has been documented since at least 2005 in research studies.
Looking at the numbers from the perspective of families is problematic when individuals who use to get married in their 20's today get married in their 30's, if at all. Moreover, those families also have fewer children today. My own research indicates that Yearbook membership numbers are out by approximately 25% - 30%, quite apart from the yearly drop in membership numbers.
Though the work of SPACT is helpful, I feel as if we are a community "inside a box" looking out, self referencing our analysis without really coming to grips with the socio-cultural changes occurring around us.
Individuals are disaffiliating from participation in institutional, community, and neighbourhood life. Though they may have personal reasons, there are broader philosophical changes afoot that consciously or unconsciously affect those decisions. Matters of the "common good" have been fractured into privatized relativistic worldviews making consensus in civic life ever more difficult.
Below are some references to articles on why "churches are losing members..."
Angus Reid 2013-12 Poll – Christmas – Religion
Barna Group 2003-09-24 Twenty somethings Struggle to Find Their Place in Christian Churches
Barna Group 2011-07-26 [Part1] Examines Trends in 14 Religious Factors over 20 Years (1991 to 2011)
Barna Group 2011-07-27 [Part2] Describes Religious Changes Among Busters, Boomers, and Elders Since 1991
Barna Group 2011-09-28 Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church
Barna Group 2011-11-16 Five Myths about Young Adult Church Dropouts
Barna Group 2012-08-12 Christian Women Today – Parts 1 - 4
Barna Group 2013-05-09 Three Spiritual Journeys of Millennials
Barna Group 2013-09-17 Reasons Millennials Stay Connected to Church
Barna Group 2012-01-09 What People Experience in Churches
Beaty, Katelyn 2009-10 Lost In Transition. Christianity Today
Bellah, Robert 1986-02-20 Individualism & Commitment In American Life. Lecture, University of California
Chong, Shiao 2013-01-28 Relationship, Religion Or Both? Christian Courier
Coggins, Jim 2012-09-17 Why Canadian young people are leaving the church. Canadian Christianity
Dyck, Drew 2011-11-19 The Leavers – Young Doubters Exit The Church. Christianity Today
Evens, Rachel Held 2013 Why millennials are leaving the church. CNN Belief Blog
Greusel, David 2013-11-12 Yearning for community - or not. Think Christian
Kim, Steve Hemorrhaging Faith / A Brief Synopsis. Apologetics Canada
Kwon, Lillian 2011-04-22 Survey Reveals Decade – Long 'Erosion' of Traditional US Congregations - Hartford Institute
PEW 2010-02 Religion Among Millennials
PEW 2010-09-28 Religious Knowledge – Full Report
PEW 2011-03-09 For Millennials Parenthood Trumps Marriage
PEW 2011-12-14 Barely Half of U.S. Adults Are Married – A Record Low
PEW 2013-03-18 Decline Of Institutional Religion
PEW 2013-03 Lugo, Luis – The Decline Of Institutional Religion & Implications For American Civil Life
PEW 2013-06-27Canada’s Changing Religious Landscape | Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project
Pimblott, Kerry 2012-11-09 The Election and Why Millennials are Leaving the Church Margins. Blog marginalife
Postma, Gayla 2007-08 Where Did Our Young Adults Go – The Banner
Reimer, Sam Demographic Look At Evangelical Congregations 2010-08. EFC Church & Faith Trends
Roozen, David 2011 Decade Of Change In American Congregations 2000-2010 Faith Communities Today
Roozen, David 2013-12-03 Negative Numbers – The decline Narrative Reaches Evangelicals - The Christian Century
Smith, Christian 2005 Portraits Of Protestant Teens. National Study on Youth & Religion
Smith, Christian 2007-11&12 Getting a Life: The challenge of emerging adulthood. Books & Culture
Smith, Christian 2008 Religion & Spirituality On The Path Through Adolescence. National Study on Youth & Religion
State Of The Canadian Church 2008 Canadian Christianity
Thiessen, Joel 2010-12 Churches Are Not Necessarily The Problem. EFC Church & Faith Trends.pdf
Van Loon, Michelle 2013-08-08 Who Raised These Millennials Anyway? | Her.meneutics / Christianity Today
Posted in: When Churches Lose Members
Hi John...
You are right about trends globally in the North and South, though I wonder if it is not more helpful to stand outside the church box if we are called to evangelize and disciple people to the Lord?
Does the observation "Complacency, apathy, lack of passion, lukewarmness, lack of trial and testing, lack of real committment, and affluence have all combined to reduce the desire of many for a God who saves and rules. The thorns and thistles of the world are reducing the yield of the Word sown" really capture the socio-cultural worldview we find ourselves living along side. Also, do the people living within this worldview really understand us when we talk this way?
David Roozen in his research article below might take issue with the MCA numbers, though he does indicate the Pentecostal/Holiness churches are holding their own.
Roozen, David 2013-12-03 "Negative Numbers – The decline Narrative Reaches Evangelicals" The Christian Century
Posted in: The Holy Spirit and the Sermon – A Friendly Reminder For Those Who Preach
The use of the term blasphemy in the article seems odd... loading it with some new meaning??
Posted in: #helphimjesus
We've grown up with the technology in some way or other, even myself at 65. In 1980 I walked into the workplace to a computer on my desk top and have watched things evolve as a librarian on the frontlines, as well as, initiating the roll out of social media on a corporate level.
Sometimes I feel the "world" possibly gets it right. I also have reservations about the insertion of social media into the communal worship/preaching process.
When you walk into the concert hall, movie theatre, board room, council room, staff meeting, etc. people are required to turn their devices off and engage with heart and mind on the task at hand.
We may need social media, but I'm not sure God does. Since worship is "communal" and not a lecture, tweeting, etc. to interact with the sermon is probably distracting to both the pastor and the body of Christ.
Posted in: How Young Is Too Young For Council?
Don't want to throw a wrench into the works, however, serving on council also means sitting on a board of an incorporated NGO. State/Provincial legislation in this area usually requires one to be of legal voting age.
Consequently, the denomination needs to separate the matter of "profession of faith" from "membership in a society", i.e. church as a legal entity.
Posted in: Church is Boring!
Maybe it's also about bringing our cultural freight into the process without asking whether the "communion of the saints" requires a counter cultural stance, i.e. being in the world, but not of the world. Are we molding the church to conform to the cultural values of the world we live in?
Posted in: So How Good are the Sermons in the CRC?
It is always difficult to obtain meaningful written commentary. Also, it is important to focus building on strengths and developing weaknesses. Below is an amended and shorten version of Calvin Seminary's evaluation form that has been used in our Elder meetings.
Sermon Response Form: Please fill out while your memory is still fresh
Sermon Text: _______________________ Date: _______________________Sermon Title: _______________________ Pastor: _______________________
1=Excellent 2=Very Good 3=Good 4=Average 5=Poor
1. Head: Was the passage explained well?
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
The key message(s) I got from this sermon was:
Suggestions for improvement:
2. Heart: Did the message help me experience God?
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
The sermon made me feel closer to God because:
Suggestions for improvement:
3. Hands: Did the message call me to an appropriate life-response?
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
The sermon challenged me to:
Suggestions for improvement:
4. Liturgy: Did the worship service and sermon delivery bring you into the presence of God?
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Suggestions for improvement:
Posted in: Is Conversion to Jesus Enough?
Interesting question. Concur on the 3 points, however, wonder at times whether the church is speaking into a vacuum to an ahistorical audience that has lost it's counter cultural bearings. Currently reading Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way by J.I. Packer & Gary A. Parrett. Recommend it.
Posted in: Church Mobilization Priorities for 2013
Can a democratic multicultural societies exist without embedding civic virtues as "tolerance" or "pluralism" into the socio-political fabric?
The article above raises concerns about reopening the door to the Constantinian theocratic state and colonial imperialism in missions by framing the question this way. It is unnecessary.
Posted in: Church Mobilization Priorities for 2013
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Posted in: Post Synod: Make Decisions About Truth Without Losing Grace
Hi Sean...
Though I can appreciate the points regarding process, but process becomes problematic when one assumes everyone is working with the same underlying premises e.g. those on either end of the political spectrum. Process falls apart there are two quite separate religious worldviews at play within the Christian community, similar to engaging in ecumenical dialogue between Buddhists and Jews.
Posted in: Should My Church Sing Hillsong?
The question "should that negate us from singing their theologically sound songs" is a legitimate question. Though the article raises some important questions, it also implies a "guilt by association" theory that does not stand up to biblical notions of justice. The article could do with more discernment.
If Brian Houston, or Carl Lenz, are guilty of financial or sexual abuse does this mean that song writers, singers and the fellowships at Hillsong churches are complicit participants in their inappropriate actions?
Secondly, does unsound doctrine on the part of some, or even a denomination, mean the song is thereby scripturally unsound?