I just finished my class, and one of the books I read was called "Radically Unchurched". It started off with some interesting facts. The author told us that only 29% of Americans are considered practicing Christians. This number he said was a generous number. 30% of people in America are christian in name only. That means they have no evidence of any faith. Then, over 41% of all people in America are unchurched. They have no religious affiliation at all. This poll was taken about 10 years ago, so I would assume that percentage has gone up.
The next statistic given is that 80% of churches in America are stagnant. (no growth) Also less than 1% of churches growing in America are growing by conversion growth. That means that many churches are not growing, and many of the ones that are actually growing are mainly from transfer growth. They are growing from gaining believers from other churches.
This should be staggering statistics for Christians. Another question that was asked in the book is, "Is your church more aptly described as a hotel for saints, or a hospital for sinners?
Are our churches designed more for taking believers from other churches, or are we designed more for people to come to know Christ? Don't get me wrong, our churches should never neglect discipling already believers in Christ, but we must never forget about the 41% plus of the people in America that have no relationship with Christ.
When you think about church are you more concerned about the programs that will personally benefit you, or are you more concerned about being part of a church that is seeing people won to Christ? Just a thought.
