The Church Exodus: Why Attendance is Declining in America | One Quick Thought by Russ Ewell
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2024
- Over the years, research has shown us that more and more people have been losing their interest in attending church. These numbers have been multiplied over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This church attendance decline doesn't necessarily mean that people are losing their interest in God or a higher power, but it is still important. The way we live and conduct ourselves will greatly influence others' view of seeking out God and a spiritual community.
Watch this One Quick Thought by Russ Ewell to learn about creating an environment that is non-traditional, non-denominational, and life-changing, instead of setting up rules and traditions that can drive people away from religious institutions.
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:09 Americans' belief in God
01:25 Americans divided on church
02:43 Mark 11 12-14 NLT
03:43 Mark 11 15-17 NLT
04:59 Mark 11 18-21 NLT
05:48 COVID-19 effect on church attendance
07:27 Life Changing
09:22 Decluttering our hearts unlocks our faith
09:38 The Christians superpower
References:
Mark 11:12-14 NLT
Mark 11:15-17 NLT
Mark 11:18-21 NLT
Mark 1:14-15 NCV
Matthew 15:3 NIV
1 Corinthians 1:12 NIV
Mark 11:22-23 NLT
Mark 11:24-25 NLT
Pew Research Key Findings About Americans' View of God
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...
Barna Americans Divided on Importance of Church
www.barna.com/research/americ...
Barna 1 in 3 Practicing Christians Have Stopped Attending Church Since Covid-19
www.barna.com/research/new-su...
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#RussEwell
You're straight on point. One promise really keeps me up: the gates of hell can't prevail. All my life I've been surrounded by people who had never heard of New Testament and had no interest. So I know that it is really good to have faithful people around. And it is a luxury today. In the end, it's all only about you and your choice, not others. If no one goes to church, there's still you who can! So keep it up brothers!
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I really love your message. It's so clear and concise. The truth hurts and we need to hear the truth.
Thank you. 🙏
Very very good teaching Jesus Christ is Lord
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This message, here and now, was just what I was searching for.
That’s great to hear! 🙏 Glad to be of help.
Good discussion. We need to get excited about going to church. It needs to be life changing. I am in a leadership position at church and that is one thing we struggle with. We try to teach people their life will be transformed if they put God and Christ's teachings at the center of their life. Part of that is coming to church each week, good times or bad. However many members in the congregation would rather sleep in, travel, play leisure sports, or watch tv than come to church. Out of 750 members we get around 100-150 on a Sunday.
Thanks for your kind words. 🙏
Thank you so much for this teaching. We really need to help people find God in the church and this begins with us focusing on our faith, building an intimate relationship with him
Appreciate your comment Ekode! Our hope is to help anyone be able to make God personal to their own life, and prayerfully we can all work on changing together. 🙏
SERIOUSLY!
Do Christians here know or listened to the actual reasons from more and more people leaving and not attending churches?
Great information! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Real good discussion. Thanks bro!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Point well taken.
The last time i went looking for a church, i attended 11 different churches of various denominations. Every sermon was about 3 topics: Money, abortion, or political endorsements. I stopped attending regularly in 1980 because of a crisis in faith. This crisis was caused by lies and betrayal by the lead pastor of a church i had vigorously participated in. After that, i decided i had to find my own way in faith, learn how to translate and interpret the Bible for myself. And for i actively looked for the best critics of my faith down through the centuries. I thoroughly studied Freud, Marx, Nietzsche, Hume, Kiekegaard, and many other critics. I still maintain my faith in Christ as savior. But the road has changed a great deal about how i express my faith, and how i understand it. For me, the reason there is a mass exodus from church is simple; sermons have become sales pitches, the pastoral "calling" has become a career like any other career, denominations have become for profit corporations with corporate ladders to be climbed like any other corporation. And at the center of it all? Marketing and selling the Gospel for money power and sex. That is why folks are leaving church, they are fed up.
Thanks for sharing your journey. You're right, everyone needs to find their way in faith, and surrounding ourselves with a like-minded community (whether big or small) can be a great support. We hope you can find those people.
And if you want to start a group on your own, try discussing one of our conversation devotional articles with a friend, "10 Questions That Lead to Great Spiritual Conversations" >> deepspirituality.com/10-questions-that-lead-to-great-spiritual-conversations/
So what?
Narrow is the path to life.
Life changing faith 🙏🏿
The "Nones" have increased in recent decades. There is a trend of secularization in western countries. People leave church for a number of reasons. Many sociologists who study religion point to 15-20 reasons why people leave the church. The reality is many Christian churches are dying. Congregations with 600 people in pews 60 years ago may only have 50 show up in 2024. Many Christians complain about a lack of community and belonging as reasons why they left a congregation. Others point the Christian doctrine as in direct opposition to the world. There are also sociological reasons for leaving, such as Christians being empathetic with LGBTQ issues or rights of women. I think many Christians go to church for different reasons. They also leave church for various reasons.
i attended an episcopal church many years until we got a new pastor who was obviously a leftist. until then i had no idea of the politics of the prior pastors. i attended church to escape politics. when parishioners started making gratuitous comments on sunday, i realized i no longer fit in that church and have not been back.
I think the data has been wildly misinterpreted to fit this particular view of why people don’t attend church. There are a number of reasons people stop attending church that wasn’t addressed, primarily politics. The Religious Right has caused splits in churches and has pushed young people and adults away for decades now. Further, the general public’s advancement in education has a lot to do with those leaving church. Many people also don’t see The Church making the positive difference in people’s lives like Christ commanded us to do. That touches on your point. Where are the churches and organizations to feed the hungry, house the homeless, love, accept and affirm the least of these like minority communities such as the lgbt community? What about welcoming the immigrant? The things Christ charged us to do. If you want to get young people in church give them a purpose. Begin doing the things Christ taught us to do. We’re not just touching the lives of those we help, but also those who do the helping. When people can see Jesus working they will again be excited about the Gospel!
"I think" vs research backed up by data
Sing the word of God and saturate your hearts with God's living word.
As people become more educated. they start to question what they instinctively do!
I also feel that the more educated people become, the less "fear" operates in their lives!
Young people refuse to enter a church once they leave the family nest!
Young people are not fearful about God like their parents.
I truly feel that religion is based upon "fear" and this is not what Jesus was all about!
Catholicism is all about weekly, if not daily attendance at Mass and sitting in a pew while the priest does everything.
The typical Catholic is fearful and have the attitude that they need to "earn" heaven.
Meanwhile God is our Father and a father loves his children automatically.
Jesus is all about charity, love, and acceptance! Churches are notoriously un-Christlike!
Hypocrisy