Statistics of Religion in North America

Profile of the public

Attendance is menu option
everyone expects to go to heaven
Balance scale salvation
Salvation by works: good outweighs bad
Doing the absolute minimum to be saved
very stable in their religious traditions
very closed minded
no desire or need to search

Things not up for grab

"The social gospel has served to intensify the affiliational stability that was already durable because of parent-offspring transmission. Even the 'no religion' category is unattractive, since almost everyone requires some professional religious services in the course of a lifetime. Just as it is handy to have a good dentist or lawyer, so it is handy to have access to a minister or priest. The attendance drop-off in no sense means 'things are up for grabs'."

Affiliation Stability of General Public
Attend Weekly: 25%		Inactives: 75%
Wouldn't switch: 96%	Might Switch 4%	Wouldn't Switch: 80%	Might Switch: 20%
Only 16% of Population Might Switch, but probably won't (4% X 25% + 20% X 75% = 16%)

Understanding the difference
Attenders (committed) 25%	Non-attenders (uncommitted) 75%
Already attend weekly	Don't attend anywhere
Strong church social ties	Few church social ties
Steeped in False doctrine	Superficial belief system
Hard to teach truth	Easy to teach truth

the religious cafeteria junky

Asked of the 75% who don't attend weekly:

"Some observers maintain that few people are actually abandoning their religious traditions. Rather, they draw selective beliefs and practices, even if they do not attend services frequently. They are not about to be recruited by other religious groups. Their identification with their religious tradition is fairly solidly fixed, and it is to these groups that they will turn when confronted with marriage, death and frequently, birth. How well would you say this observation describes YOU?"

very accurately 45%
somewhat accurately 33%
not accurately at all 12%

Religion a' La Carte
Church leaders in 1800's	"This is what religion is"
church leaders today	"What do you want religion to be"
What will market bear? 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Religion A` La Carte in practice
Ordination of Practicing Homosexuals	1 Cor 6:9-10
Pre-Marital Sex Permitted	Heb 13:4
Woman Preaching in Pulpit	2 Tim 2:2
Emasculate God (father to person)	Deut 4:2
Church Membership by yearly $$$	Heb 10:25
Every Social Program Under the Sun	John 6
How can they practice such things? It is the doctrine of the times!

Social gospel: attracting the masses with bread

Negative Attendance Spiral
To increase membership roll, Preachers water down gospel
which leads to...	Weekly attenders begin to view attendance as optional
	which leads to...	Average commitment level drops
		which leads to...	Fewer people, not more, attend church
To increase membership roll, Preachers water down gospel even more...	and	so	on ...
The social gospel leads to spiritual death

Conservative Protestant Church Growth by source

51% Transfers & Other Churches
27% Children of Members
22% "Sinners" (marriage & friendship)
"If evangelicals are serious about recruiting 'real live sinners', the best approach is either to befriend or marry them. For that is how most are actually recruited." Reginald Bibby

Church of Christ in Ontario Growth 1979-1989

("Inquiry into growth of churches of Christ in Ontario" by Geoffrey Ellis 1990)

15 selected congregations average size 94; total membership 1410
Over 10 years
Total baptisms (10 years)	582
Baptisms from biology	219
Baptisms from outreach	363
Net 10 year gain (gains-losses)	222
Per church per year
Baptisms	3.8
Baptisms from outreach	2.4
Net increase	1.5
Members to baptize 1 outsider	39
Members to grow by 1 (net)	63

Cults in Canada

A. Membership numbers (multiply by 10 for USA)

Scientologist	700
Hare Krishna	450
Moonies	650
Children of god	250
New age type groups	4100

B. Cults represent the extreme fringe

C. Public Anxiety Greatly Misplaced

Selecting an approach in evangelism

Target Their Needs
Committed	Uncommitted
emphasis: False religion damns	emphasis: All non-attenders are lost
focus: doctrine	focus: commitement to Christ

We cannot use first century sermons as a pattern for today

Antitypes of two times
First century	Today
many Lord's - one church	one Lord - many churches
(antitype: Todays uncommited)	(antitype: Todays commited)
focus: which Lord?	focus: which church?

Cultural, geographic, social environment factors

converts before & after
Corinth	Philippi
Highly Transient population	Retirement city for Roman officers
High divorce rate	Stable families
Morally corrupt	Generally Moral
Book of Church Problems: Preacheritus, Immorality, Lawsuits, Divorce, Lord's Supper corrupted, Misuse Gifts of HS: 1 Corinthians	"My Joy and Crown" Philippians 4:1
Same is true today: The quality of the church will somewhat depend upon the quality of the population you are converting from.

Steve Rudd

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