Insight Two by George Bullard on the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey 2008. [Conducted by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life at www.pewforum.org.]
Learning: "More that one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion--or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, roughly 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether." [5]
Implications for Congregations: 1. Even when you provide a strong faith and fellowship background for children who grow up in your congregation, you cannot expect them to be members and leaders of your congregation in adulthood not only because they move to another town, city, state, or country, but because 9 out of 20 of them are switching their religious affiliation or dropping out of public religious practice. You have to provide a strong faith and fellowship background because it is the right and loving thing to do. 2. An increasing number of your members and leaders will not have a lifelong orientation to your congregation, your denomination, or to the Christian faith. They will need basic and simple as well as advanced and complicated understandings of faith and practice. 3. Increasingly congregations will not be able to search for new members among people who are oriented to their denominational ethos. Congregations must be willing to cross various denominational, theological, cultural, religious, and demographic barriers to attract new members.
Implications for Denominations: 1. Many existing congregations are likely to lose more members to mobility of residence and religious affiliation than they are able to attract as new members and attendees. Denominations will need to focus on effective strategies for changing the focus of congregations on who they are trying to reach and how they are attempting to reach them. 2. Denominations must help congregations to understand the typical church seeker is not looking for a Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc. congregation that happens to offer great worship, fellowship, discipleship, and programs. They are look for a congregation that offers great worship, fellowship, discipleship, and programs that happens to be Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc. 3. Church planting efforts by denominations must increasingly be positioned to cross more theological, cultural, religious, and demographic barriers than ever before to bring truth and relevance to preChristians, unchurched, and dechurched people.
