One study stated that 28 percent of people who attend evangelical churches are not born-again Christians. With views and percentages like those noted above, I think 28 percent is likely a low number!
The news is worse for churches.
A study conducted in 2018 revealed that 51 percent of churchgoers stated they had never heard of the Great Commission.
Now that churches are once again gathering in person, many churches are reporting that 30 to 60 percent of their congregation have not yet returned, and they may not return at all.
One study reports a median decline in overall church attendance of seven percent between 2015 and 2020. Half of the estimated 350,000 congregations in America had 65 or fewer people in attendance on any given weekend (in 2000, that number was 137).
Part of what is at the heart of the problem is that 65 percent of church leaders say evangelism has not been a priority for their congregations for the last several years. Only nine percent said it was a high priority for members to share their faith. The church has been in decline for a very long time, largely because it has turned inward rather than outward.
The impact of the pandemic, which has seen unprecedented levels of strife and criticism from congregations toward each other and specifically toward their leaders, has resulted in 38 percent of pastors saying in 2021 that they have thought about quitting vocational ministry within the year, and that has increased to 42 percent of pastors thinking about quitting in 2022.
Can it get worse?
Here’s some startling news — according to Thom Rainer, founder and CEO of Church Answers, “Between 6,000 and 10,000 churches in the US are dying each year. That means around 100-200 churches will close this week. The pace will accelerate unless our congregations make some dramatic changes.”
Rainer also claims the impact of the pandemic on churches in 2022 could be at record level: “We estimate that as many as 15,000 churches will be confronted with the choice of closing or being adopted.”
It wasn’t as good as you might remember before the onset of COVID-19, and the impact of a global pandemic has made many things worse.
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So, what do we do?
The answer isn’t to go back to the “old normal,” that was unhealthy by almost every measure.
The answer isn’t to create a “new normal” because we can’t make all things new, only Jesus can do that, and that’s what He will do when He returns.
Is there an answer for now? For the ankle-deep “new normal” we find ourselves already wading into?
Yes. As people, as church leaders, and as Christ’s church, we need to recalibrate.
The original downfall of humanity began by an evil serpent whispering a lie to a woman in a garden, suggesting that if she acted just slightly out of calibration with what God said, she could be like Him (Gn. 3:1-7).
Eve’s acting on that deception would lead to all of humanity being “out of calibration” with the will and Word of God.
Recalibration couldn’t fix that level of brokenness.
