The Dying American Church

"There are some 400,000 churches in the United States. We estimate that some 60,000 of those churches will close in the next 10 to 15 years. We will need at least 60,000 churches just to stay even!" --Thomas Rainer, from the forward to Church Planting from the Ground Up, College Press. See the full forward at:

www.church-planter.com.

According to George Barna's book Revolution, in 2000 there were an estimated 70% of people whose primary means of spiritual experience and expression was found in local church. By 2025, Barna claims that, according to his research, there will only be 30-35% who find this from local church. Most will change to finding their main spiritual experience and expression through alternative faith-based community, i.e. home churches.

Thomas Rainer also has an article called "The Dying American Church." (from Christianpost.com) Here's a small excerpt:

"The state of evangelism in the American Church is such that I do have my moments when I wonder if the Church is headed down the path of many European congregations: decline and death. The facts of a 2004 research project I led are sobering. It takes 86 church members in America one year to reach a person for Christ. Now I realize that such statistical studies are imperfect, and I make no claims of omniscience, especially in matters such as the regenerate population. But if the research is even close to accurate, the reality is that the Church is not reproducing herself. In just one or two generations, Christianity could be so marginalized that it will be deemed irrelevant by most observers."

Since I am a child of the church, having been raised in church, saved in a local church, and called into ministry through the local church; I have a heart for local church ministry. And I believe in it strongly. But I have become so frustrated by how easily "church" can become a seemingly dead work. More and more churches are fitting in this category. It is estimated that 80-85% of churches in America are either plateaued or declining.

I'm convinced it's a necessity that God's people start truly seeking God for revival and renewal in the American Church.