TITLE: Where Do We Stand? (Part 1 of 2)
TEXT: Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
PROPOSITION: Statistics will help us understand what we are doing right and where we need to improve.
QUESTION: What?
KEY WORD: Statistics
Introduction:
Most denominations have a headquarters that gather and analyize data.
Churches of Christ are independent, autonomous congregations.
Statistics are more difficult to collect.
For many years Flavil Yeakley, Jr. has done an excellent job in this area.
He recently gave his latest survey information in a lecture at Freed Hardeman University.
Does Religion Matter?
28% of American adults left the faith of their childhood for another faith.
22% of Americans NEVER go to church. In 2004 it was 17%.
Churches, generally, are losing membership.
How do Religions Compare?
Those known as Christian religions 78.4%
Protestant 51.3%
Catholic 23.9%
Cults Mormon, JW's, etc. - 2.4%
Other (non-Christian) religions
Jewish 1.7%
Buddhist 0.7%
Muslim 0.6%
Hindu 0.4%
Atheist 1.6%
Nothing 12.1%
Christians in the USA
250 Christian groups in the US
14 are 1 million members or more
Churches of Christ are #12 on that list
30 are over 100K and less than 1 million
206 are less than 100K
Terms
Adherents members, children, non-member spouses
Members those recognized as official members, baptized, allowed to participate
Attendance average of all who are present at a worship service
Some Stats about where we stand
Adherents in 2000 1,645,584 = 12th place
Number of congregations in 2000 13,027 = 4th place
Members in 2000 1,264,808 =12th place
Counties where present 2,429 = 5th place
Attendance as a percentage of membership 99.3% = 1st place
Are We Dead Yet?
Some are preaching doom and gloom - We are dead but don't know it yet.
We are not growing as much as we could, should, and have in the past.
BUT -
Some churches have less than 50% of members who attend
Members who attend 1 time a week Catholic 45%; Methodist 44%; Baptist 60%; Episcopal 32%; Presbyterian 44%
Churches of Christ - 1st place with 68% attend 1 time a week
Growth / Decline in Adherents 1980 2000
Keep in mind some count all born at birth as members
Some believe in once saved, always saved and keep all they convert even if they leave
Churches of Christ grew 45,407
Methodists LOST 1,201,482
Presbyterian LOST 871,269
Episcopal LOST 508,641
Summary We Are:
12th largest in members, and adherents
4th in number of congregations
5th in counties with a congregation
Churches of Christ should be well positioned to take the gospel to all parts of the US.
We are already there!
NOTE: Next Sunday PM Divisions, Young People (keeping or losing)?
Information was gathered from Power Point and PDF files from Mike Baker.