7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America

While Gallup polls and other statisticians have turned in the same percentage—about 40 percent of the population—of average weekend church attendees for the past 70 years, a different sort of research paints quite a disparate picture of how many Christians in American attend a local church on any given Sunday. …

“We knew that over the past 30 to 40 years, denominations had increasingly reported a decline in their numbers,” Marler says. “Even a still-growing denomination like the Southern Baptist Convention had reported slowed growth. Most of the mainline denominations were all reporting a net loss over the past 30 years. And at the same time, the Gallup polls had remained stable. It didn’t make sense.” …

Clearly, a disconnect between what Americans say and what they actually do has created a sense of a resilient church culture when, in fact, it may not exist.

Source: 7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America

My dad used to say, “Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure.” Thus, I present an article on statistics with some trepidation. Those of us with evangelistic hearts desperately desire church growth everywhere and especially in our own churches. Yet experience tells us that any growth is slow to come, with fits and starts, especially the most desired “new convert growth.” Reports like this are worth thinking about as we consider the Lord’s command to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Don Johnson