Church Membership is in Rapid Decline

Church membership is in rapid decline, and church attendance is much worse. Studies in the U.S. show that this generation’s faith in the name Jesus is in rapid decline. Lies and deceit perpetrated by leaders in both our secular and church communities have undermined trust and created an environment of distrust. All of our institutions, government, education, business, and religious ones have lost consumer confidence; churches have suffered the most, according to Gallup research.

We don’t have to  look far to see the destruction lies, deceit and misinformation have caused in these last generations.

Apostle Paul warns us

Over the last 50 years, Christians have been under constant assault by false preachers and teachers. They introduced heresies like, world changers, christian right, prosperity, name claim it, ministries to name a few. Not preaching Christ, but the desires of men. All promoted by self-serving greedy men who, being full of pride and deceit, and speaking elegantly provoking and appealing to the natural desires of people in order to rob them. Especially the spiritually weak, those who don’t understand the intent and plan of God for the faithful.

Seeing the deceit and failure of the false teachings that entered church life over the last 5 decades. Both young and old people have lost confidence. When the greedy lying men gained a voice to speak in church and their true nature uncovered; the church lost integrity lost the trust of many. When you lie or mislead, you lose integrity, any claim to truth is tarnished. Without truth, church isn’t worth much. A lot of churchgoers stop attending and now are at a loss. It’s a tremendous loss marking the departure from faith in Jesus prophesied in 2 Thessalonian 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. 

The result is churches look like hypocrites and not to be relied upon or trusted. This has led to the dramatic decline in church membership, church attendance is even worse. Church membership in America is down over 25% since the year 2000. Why go to a place you can’t trust? 

Gallup Polls and new service reports on the conditions of churches in America 

Church attendance down Almost 30%

While organized religion is not the only U.S. institution suffering a loss of confidence, Americans have lost more confidence in religion and church than in most other institutions.

In 2020, 47% of U.S. adults belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque

• Down more than 20 points from turn of the century
• Change primarily due to rise in Americans with no religious preference

	1998-2000	2008-2010	2018-2020	Change, 1998-2000to 2018-2020
	%	%	%	pct. pts.
Men	64	58	46	-18
Women	73	65	53	-20

Now less than half have a formal membership with a specific house of worship. While it is possible that part of the decline seen in 2020 was temporary and related to the coronavirus pandemic, continued decline in future decades seems inevitable, given the much lower levels of religiosity and church membership among younger versus older generations of adults.

This is the generation without trust. Young and old folks no longer know who to trust. They have been let down and disappointed by parents, leaders, those who are in positions of responsibility. We all will pay the price for that. Lies destroy lives. 

Churches Need Membership to Survive

Churches are only as strong as their membership and depend on their members for financial support and service to keep operating. Because it is unlikely that people who do not have a religious preference will become church members, the challenge for church leaders is to encourage those who do affiliate with a specific faith to become formal, and active, church members.

While precise numbers of church closures are elusive, a conservative estimate is that several thousands of U.S. churches are closing each year. 

A 2017 Gallup study found churchgoers citing sermons as the primary reason they attended church. They also said spiritual programs, community outreach and volunteer opportunities were also factors in their attendance. A focus on some of these factors may also help local church leaders encourage people who share their faith to join their church.

  Sources:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx

https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx

As we approach the end of the year, research shows that confidence in churches and all institutions is getting worse faster. In the U.S. Church membership is down almost 30% since the year 2000. Church attendance in USA is well below 50% compared to over seventy percent during the 1970’s. In Europe, church goers are rare with regular attendance being below 20% in many European communities.