Encouraging News about Churches of Christ
There are a few blogs that I try and read every week. Among these are Dale Jenkins' (preacher for Spring Meadows church of Christ) and Phil Sanders' (preacher for Concord Road church of Christ) blogs. Both of these men are faithful proclaimers of the Word of God and are good friends. Checking these blogs, it came to my attention that some interesting statistics about Churches of Christ were presented at Freed-Hardeman University this last weekend. This information is very encouraging and...well, why don't you read their entries for yourself....The Sky Isn’t Falling (Posted January 25th, 2008, by Steve Higginbotham) (Steve's article was also published on Dale Jenkins' blog)
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation on the campus of Freed-Hardeman University. The Christian Higher Education Foundation, representing colleges and universities affiliated with Churches of Christ, commissioned Dr. Flavil Yeakley to study the post-high school years of our young people related to their spiritual growth. (Dr. Yeakley’s presentation, along with his PowerPoint slides will be made available for download on Freed-Hardeman’s website in the near future).
Dr. Yeakley presented several interesting facts that I wish to share with you. Not only did he share information about our young people, but about churches of Christ in general. Here are some of the statistics that he shared:
Churches of Christ constitute the 12th largest religious group in America.
Churches of Christ are the 6th fastest growing church in America.
Churches of Christ rank 4th in the nation in total number of congregations.
Churches of Christ rank 5th in the nation in number of counties in which there is a congregation.
Churches of Christ rank 1st in the nation in distribution of congregations.
Churches of Christ rank 1st in the nation in weekly attendance among its membership.
That’s a far cry from the gloom and doom propaganda that some have been preaching. So much for the talk that we must embrace certain innovations if we want to grow and be remain relevant.
Another interesting tid-bit from Dr. Yeakley’s research was that the greatest retention rate of young people following graduation from high school comes from congregations who are described as “middle of the road,” whereas the worst retention rate of young people comes from congregations who are described as “much more liberal.”
Friends, while we certainly have room for improvement, these statistics prove that we’re doing some things right. While we need to be warned and sometimes criticized, we also need to be encouraged, strengthened, and patted on the back. Take a child from the time he is old enough to understand words, and give him constant criticism. Tell him how he is no good, and how other children are better than him. Tell him that he is worthless, and that he has not and cannot achieve anything worthwhile. What impact do you think this would have on the self-image and productivity of that child?
Likewise, take a church, and for an extended period of time, do nothing but criticize it. Tell it how it is no good. Tell it how other “churches” are better than it. Tell it that it is irrelevant, legalistic, and graceless. Tell it that it cannot achieve anything worthwhile. Now what kind of impact do you think this would have on the self-image and productivity of that church? I would suggest the same.
These statistics aren’t given so that you will have something about which to brag, but rather are given to encourage you to “keep your hand to the plow” and help you to realize that you are making a positive impact in the world.
Dr. Yeakley presented several interesting facts that I wish to share with you. Not only did he share information about our young people, but about churches of Christ in general. Here are some of the statistics that he shared:
Churches of Christ constitute the 12th largest religious group in America.
Churches of Christ are the 6th fastest growing church in America.
Churches of Christ rank 4th in the nation in total number of congregations.
Churches of Christ rank 5th in the nation in number of counties in which there is a congregation.
Churches of Christ rank 1st in the nation in distribution of congregations.
Churches of Christ rank 1st in the nation in weekly attendance among its membership.
That’s a far cry from the gloom and doom propaganda that some have been preaching. So much for the talk that we must embrace certain innovations if we want to grow and be remain relevant.
Another interesting tid-bit from Dr. Yeakley’s research was that the greatest retention rate of young people following graduation from high school comes from congregations who are described as “middle of the road,” whereas the worst retention rate of young people comes from congregations who are described as “much more liberal.”
Friends, while we certainly have room for improvement, these statistics prove that we’re doing some things right. While we need to be warned and sometimes criticized, we also need to be encouraged, strengthened, and patted on the back. Take a child from the time he is old enough to understand words, and give him constant criticism. Tell him how he is no good, and how other children are better than him. Tell him that he is worthless, and that he has not and cannot achieve anything worthwhile. What impact do you think this would have on the self-image and productivity of that child?
Likewise, take a church, and for an extended period of time, do nothing but criticize it. Tell it how it is no good. Tell it how other “churches” are better than it. Tell it that it is irrelevant, legalistic, and graceless. Tell it that it cannot achieve anything worthwhile. Now what kind of impact do you think this would have on the self-image and productivity of that church? I would suggest the same.
These statistics aren’t given so that you will have something about which to brag, but rather are given to encourage you to “keep your hand to the plow” and help you to realize that you are making a positive impact in the world.
Some more pertinent statistics (Phil Sanders)
According to Flavil Yeakley, who presented this material at FHU recently, one can say these things about churches of Christ:
12th largest religious group in America
6th fastest growing church in America
4th in the nation in the total number of congregations
5th in the nation in number of counties in which there is a congregation
1st in the nation in distribution of congregations
1st in the nation in weekly attendance. According to a survey by Barna about five years ago, churches of Christ were first in donations among religious groups (for our size).When you consider that we lost only 69 churches (2000-2006) and yet are 4th in the number of congregations throughout the US is rather remarkable.The call for changing doctrine or die is premature...Phil
According to Flavil Yeakley, who presented this material at FHU recently, one can say these things about churches of Christ:
12th largest religious group in America
6th fastest growing church in America
4th in the nation in the total number of congregations
5th in the nation in number of counties in which there is a congregation
1st in the nation in distribution of congregations
1st in the nation in weekly attendance. According to a survey by Barna about five years ago, churches of Christ were first in donations among religious groups (for our size).When you consider that we lost only 69 churches (2000-2006) and yet are 4th in the number of congregations throughout the US is rather remarkable.The call for changing doctrine or die is premature...Phil
For a more balanced approach (Phil Sanders)
I am really weary of progressive posters who think that all of us in the middle-of-the-road preach for dying and shrinking churches. It is absurd and false to think that all the growth among us has been among the progressives. Nothing could be further from the truth.I spoke earlier of two church plantings nearby. Both happened among the mainstream, neither among the progressive. Both are growing well, and we thank God for them (Heritage in Franklin and Spring Meadows in Spring Hill). At the same time I have seen nearby progressive churches lose large numbers of members.According to Yeakley, the more progressive the church, the more likely they are to lose their teens. I am not really surprised. Once you start down the road of compromise and self-made religion, it is hard to keep your kids from going one step further than you have gone. What I do weary of is the constant harping by progressives that mainliners won't keep their children. The fact is the ones who keep their kids best are the middle-of-the-road churches.What was also important is that the attendance to membership ratio and the giving to member ratio were so outstanding among members of the church. To assume this is only progressive churches goes against the grain and my experience. Why is it that progressive publications can hardly stay in print, while the mainstream and conservative ones last on and on?Forgive me for a shameless plug but Think magazine, now in its third year is booming! It is the first publication among churches of Christ to enter into the larger religious market. It is a high-quality and well-designed periodical. You can find out more about it at www.focuspress.org. Yes, I have a column there. Whatever happened to Image or Mission magazine?Now the stats showed that in America we gain 4,000 congregations yearly and lose 7,000. A net loss of 3,000. I understand there are about 350,000 churches of all kinds in the USA. If the net loss of American congregations from 2000 to 2006 was 18,000, I maintain the loss of only 69 congregations among the 12th largest religious group and the fourth most congregations is not all that bad. One must also wonder how many of those losses were not losses but mergers.Well, it will be interesting to see what else we learn from these studies.
I am really weary of progressive posters who think that all of us in the middle-of-the-road preach for dying and shrinking churches. It is absurd and false to think that all the growth among us has been among the progressives. Nothing could be further from the truth.I spoke earlier of two church plantings nearby. Both happened among the mainstream, neither among the progressive. Both are growing well, and we thank God for them (Heritage in Franklin and Spring Meadows in Spring Hill). At the same time I have seen nearby progressive churches lose large numbers of members.According to Yeakley, the more progressive the church, the more likely they are to lose their teens. I am not really surprised. Once you start down the road of compromise and self-made religion, it is hard to keep your kids from going one step further than you have gone. What I do weary of is the constant harping by progressives that mainliners won't keep their children. The fact is the ones who keep their kids best are the middle-of-the-road churches.What was also important is that the attendance to membership ratio and the giving to member ratio were so outstanding among members of the church. To assume this is only progressive churches goes against the grain and my experience. Why is it that progressive publications can hardly stay in print, while the mainstream and conservative ones last on and on?Forgive me for a shameless plug but Think magazine, now in its third year is booming! It is the first publication among churches of Christ to enter into the larger religious market. It is a high-quality and well-designed periodical. You can find out more about it at www.focuspress.org. Yes, I have a column there. Whatever happened to Image or Mission magazine?Now the stats showed that in America we gain 4,000 congregations yearly and lose 7,000. A net loss of 3,000. I understand there are about 350,000 churches of all kinds in the USA. If the net loss of American congregations from 2000 to 2006 was 18,000, I maintain the loss of only 69 congregations among the 12th largest religious group and the fourth most congregations is not all that bad. One must also wonder how many of those losses were not losses but mergers.Well, it will be interesting to see what else we learn from these studies.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing that information. That's good stuff.
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