The Decline of Church Attendance - Essay Example

? The Decline of Church Attendance Introduction It is indubitable that todaythe church is losing its membership due to a number of problems in its structure and organization. It is also disturbing to observe that the modern society views the church with much less regard than in the past. There are startling statistics that indicate a disconcerting reduction in the percentage of people attending church on a regular basis. The main reasons cited for the declining membership include poor leadership, bad examples set by clergymen and church officials through involvement in evil acts. Other causes are lack of intellectually challenging church teachings, and too much emphasis on prosperity rather than Godliness. Church scholars observe that while many people claim to be Christians, most of them rarely attend church on a regular service. This essay discusses the decline of church attendance by review recent statistics, the reasons for the decline, possible remedies and the future of the church. Church Attendance Statistics Studies on church attendance reveal startling statistics that are only indicative of a drastically declining church attendance. In addition to the documented increasing closure of churches, it is recoded that 2.7 million church attendants become inactive members every year (Gill 46). This translates into the observation that an increasing number of people are leaving the Christian church and entering into the secular world where church has no significance. Olson and Adams (7) notes that beginning 1990 through 2000, the total membership of all Protestant churches in the United States reduced by approximately 9.5 per cent, meaning that 5 million people stopped going to church during that period (). This decline in church attendance occurred despite the population of the nation rising by 24 percent, that is, 11million people. In 2002, 87 per cent of Americans claimed to be Christians in most studies but only around 40 to 50 per cent of them are regular church goers (Jackson 4). This confirms the assertions of theology scholars that church attendance may be up to a half of the population that claims in polls to be Christians. Reasons for Church Attendance Decline One of the major problems cited by church scholars for the decline church attendance is poor church leadership. Most people are simply unhappy with the way their clergymen and church officials run their churches. Chief among the elements of poor leadership is unacceptable management of funds, morale problems, and lack of a clear vision for the members of the church (Jackson 25). For instance, if a church runs a building fund for over 20 years, there is a likelihood of the members wondering if the building will ever come into being. Moreover, if the church leaders are unable to follow through a course to its completion, the existing members will develop doubts while potential members will get discouraged from joining the church. Moreover, if a pastor or a prominent church member is caught in improprieties, the members of the church who look up to those as their source of inspiration and motivation lose their trust. In addition, there are high chances that a respected church member will deny being involved in wrongful actions. The fact that it can be proven that they actually went against Christian teachings worsens the case because the congregation wonders how evil people are supposed to lead them in leading straight, Christian lives (Gill 47). Another reason blamed for the decline in church attendance is observation that people are finding churches to be lacking in intellectual challenges. It is crucial to note that more and more members of the young generation are educated at college and university levels, making them thinking people with expanded capacities of knowledge and curiosity (Wijsen and Schreiter 54). The conception of the young people that they always know more than the person preaching at the pulpit apparently gives them the perception that the preachers are boring. Speaking of expanding horizons, it is expected in the near future that scientists will discover life beyond the earth, yet Jackson (38) observes that some preachers are unable to cope with the way people currently view themselves I relation to God and the rest of the universe. As such, church attendance is declining because people are feeling the church is not giving the right explanations to the mysteries of life and the universe. Another reason for the continuous deterioration of church membership is the emphasis on ‘too much faith.’ Most pastors are insisting that members of their congregation should have extremely strong faith that they will be financially successful despite the tough economic times, yet they rarely teach them how to have the faith in God. There is a rising trend of preachers concentrating too much on material prosperity that they are forgetting the importance of guiding their followers along the ways of Christ (Gill 57). As much as such sermons are popular among listeners, more and more people are applying their critical thinking and reasoning to discern that they need to be taught of the Christian way of life and less of materialism. Possible Remedies. On the issue of poor leadership in the church, it is important that church leaders take time to listen to the complaints of church members and evaluate their own conduct. This assessment will facilitate identification of the loopholes existing in the leadership structure of the church. The church leaders should also examine their own conscious to identify the aspects of their character that are not liked by the members of the church (Wijsen and Schreiter 71). Additionally, clergymen and church officials should be exemplary in leading Christian lives. This is a good remedy to retain those members who stop going to church due to loss of trust in the church leaders. The lack of intellectual challenges in the church also contributes to church attendance decline. In this case, preachers should concentrate on keeping abreast with the current affairs in politics, science and other trending topics and discuss them with relevance to Christianity (). In fact, sermons should address the current challenges facing Christians rather than concentrating too much on the old stories of the Bible. It is also imperative for preachers and church leaders to ascertain that their messages are intellectually challenging and appropriate for all the members of their congregation. This will prevent membership decline caused by intellectual inappropriateness of church teachings. The issue of emphasis on having too much faith that God will make one prosperous should be shunned. It is pertinent that preachers realize that church members need to be given messages that are relevant to the ways of life of a Christian. Besides, the Bible itself advices people to seek first the kingdom of God, and then God will fulfill their material needs on this world (Gill 82). This means that preachers should help church members seek God and follow the teachings of Christ in the expectation that God will meet their needs in accordance with his will. This will be effective in maintaining those members who are likely to stop attending church services due to irrelevant sermons. The Future of the Church. The statistics presented in this paper indicate that the decline of church membership is catastrophic. Some churches have been observed by scholars to be undergoing terminal decline while others have hopes of recovering in the future. On the future of the church, (Olson and Adams 147) make the observation that while churches such as the United Reformed Church and Methodist Church are shedding their attendance numbers like autumn leaves, others, especially conservative evangelical Protestant churches, appear to be strongly holding on their members. However, even with the declining attendance of church, it cannot be ignored that people are still receiving God’s message through other means other than physical appearance in churches. These means include television and radio sermons, the Internet and mobiles phones (Wijsen and Schreiter 85). Preachers are utilizing these forms of technology to reach out to all people whether they attend the church or not. Therefore, with the hope that church attendance will improve in future as the causes of the decline are mitigated, preachers will continue to spread the Good News through all means and ways. Conclusion This paper has discussed the decline of church attendance with regard to the causes of the decline, the possible remedies and the way forward for the church of God. It is noticeable that the attendance statistics are worrying so much that it can be feared that the entire church will crumble at some point in future. This paper has identified the reasons for declined leadership as poor leadership, bad examples set by preachers and inappropriate sermons. In order to deal with the declining church attendance and enable the church to regain its lost membership, it is vital that church leaders spearhead this move by putting the appropriate leadership structures in place. Moreover, church leaders need to regain the lost trust of the masses and ensure that they give appropriate messages to their audiences. Nevertheless, preachers will continue delivering the God’s message to his people even with their absence in the church through television, radio, Internet and cell phone sermons. Work Cited Gill, Robin. The Empty Church Revisited. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003. Jackson, Bob. Hope for the Church: Contemporary Strategies for Growth. London: Church House, 2002. Olson, David T, and James Adams. The American Church in Crisis: Groundbreaking Research Based on a National Database of Over 200,000 Churches. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. Wijsen, Frans J. S, and Robert J. Schreiter. Global Christianity: Contested Claims. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2007. Read More