Some Startling Statisfics on the Decline of Christianity in the US & the Need for Church Planting

[James Nored]

Mission Alive has put out the following statistics on population growth, church decline, the fall of Christianity in the US, and the oppor

tunity and need for church planting. Note the following:

Here is the bad news:

• Between 1990 and 2000 there was a net gain of 4600 churches in the US; however, to simply maintain the pace with population growth a gain of 38,800 was needed.
• Between 80-85% of churches in the US are in numeric decline.
• From 1990-2001 the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as "Christian" dropped nearly 10%. At that rate, non-Christians will outnumber Christians of any denomination by 2042.
• Many churches struggle with our changing society and increasingly post-modern culture. Perhaps out of fear, many turn inward and are unable to reach their community with the good news.

Here is some demographic data:

• The US population is expected to reach 392 million by 2050, up from 300 million in 2006. Most of the increase will be in metropolitan areas. This represents a 31% increase in 42 years.
• 10 US metro areas grew in excess of 40% in the past decade: metro areas as divergent as Naples, FL., Zuma, AZ, Fayetteville, AR, and Boise, ID.
• Estimates are that 60% of the population increase in the US in the next 50 years will be among immigrant peoples.
• By 2050, less than 53 percent will be non-Hispanic White, 16 percent will be Black; 23 percent will be Hispanic; 10 percent will be Asian and Pacific Islander.

Here are the opportunities:

• American suburban life is changing to be characterized by isolation, individualism, and consumerism, providing both challenges and entree points for the gospel.
• New churches tend to grow faster than existing churches, have a greater percentage of young people and incorporate people faster than existing churches.
• Churches less than 15 years old gain 60%-80% of their members from people not attending any worshiping body, while in churches more than 15 years old 80%-90% of new members transfer from other churches.

It is clear from these statistics that Christianity in America is on a dramatic downward trend. Only God can reduce this decline. The influx of immigrants represents both a challenge and an opportunity for us. Legal immigration has been very good for America. In fact, this country was built by immigrants, who came motivated and inspired to life a better way of life. As far as minorities and churches, historically, our fellowship has not done a good job of reaching the non-White population. But immigrants are often very open to new faith, as the rest of their lives are in flux already. This is why groups such as Genesis Alliance, a Latino church planting group that I'm on the board of, are so important. We need to plant many new "minority" churches to reach these growing populations.

It is also clear that predominantly white churches and established churches of all ethnicities are needed to plant churches. The sad fact is, very few churches are growing at all, and those that are are growing through transfer growth. Unfortunately, most churches are satisfied if they merely meet the budget and gain members through transfer growth.

We need to plant many, many new churches, as this is one of the best evangelistic methods there is.

What stands out to you about these statistics?

[James Nored]

Hey Randy. Good to hear from you. I got these statistics from a Mission Alive packet. Gailyn Van Rheenen is the director of Mission Alive and is on this website. Just do a search on his name in the members section.

How are things at Westwood?

[Randy Johns]

Where can I find those stats on Mission Alive? Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting this info.

[James Nored]

Very, very true Bill. You will hear things like, people have change in all the other areas of their lives, and they do not want "church" to change. This is usually true. However, we now have six generations alive at the same time for the first time in modern history, at a time when the pace of change is dramatic. If the person who doesn't want the church to change gets their way for 40 years, the world around will have changed many times over--causing that church to miss entire generations.

This is why church planting is so needed. It is easier to start something new than it is to change established churches, or rather, established Christians.

[William Lloyd Cain]

My guess is that one of the main reasons new churches are growing faster than older ones is simply because older, establised congregations are often resistant to change. And change we must. Never to be unbiblical, but always learning new ways and new tools that resonate with a changing culture. Many older folks (and churches) view change as threat. Except for minor changes, they fear "too much change too soon" will put them on a slippery slope toward apostasy. In reality, such churches are driven by fear rather than by faith. Lord, help us to be able to see the difference between unbiblical change and change that meets the needs of today's newere generations (yet remains biblical).