According to a new report by Pew research, only 27% of Millennials attend church services (people born after 1990)
The Pew Research Center discovered that the percentage of Americans who are “absolutely certain” that God exists declined from 71 percent in 2007 to 63 percent in 2014.
Meanwhile, the percentage of those that are “religiously unaffiliated” rose from 16 percent in 2007 to 23 percent today.
Atheism, Agnosticism and other religions are on the rise in America while Christianity is on the decline
If trends continue the number of Americans attending Church in 2050 will be HALF of what it is today.
It gets worse.
Among Christians two-thirds say that many religions lead to eternal life, 68% of Catholics, 65% mainline Protestants and 59% of Orthodox Christians
Say What? Why the Heck did Jesus die on the Cross?
Add to that the persecution that is rising for Christians in this country, and things look rather bleak. Do you think these luke-warm Christians who believe there are many paths to God will stand up under persecution?.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron 1 Tim 4:1
Recently I experienced persecution myself. I shouldn't really call it persecution because there are so many Christians who are truly suffering. Let's just say that I've never felt such hate directed toward me before for being a Christian. I sent a note of inquiry to a cover designer to see if he could do a boxset cover for me. At the bottom of the note beneath my signature is a link to a video called You Have A Choice. It's a 20 minute video that explains the gospel in a very compelling way. This is part of my signature and automatically is placed at the bottom of all my notes. Anyway, this guy clicked on it and afterward exploded such vitriol on me I was completely shocked. He called me a bigot, racist and other choice names using very colorful language. I refused to engage with him and told him I was sorry to bother him.
I believe this sort of thing is going to increase and it's going to get worse fast. Sorry to be a dooms sayer, but the way the world is going and the persecution I see already tells me that we Christians better get strong and get strong fast. We will be labeled every vile name in the book (and God forbid face fines and jail possibly) and much of the hatred will come over gay and transgender rights.
I fear for the church in America. Not only are people leaving the church but some of those who attend don't seem strong in their faith. There are so many "Seeker Friendly" churches that seem to compromise with the world in order to rack up attendance, but they neglect to disciple and build up the believers they already have. Hence, they build on sand and the entire building will collapse when the storm hits.
The Seeker Friendly 100% focus of our current church, in addition to a lack of belief in the power of the Holy Spirit to heal, prophecy, speak in tongues and raise the dead if need be, have led me to find a body of believers who are truly committed to Jesus above their own lives. Trouble is, here in California, I'm wondering if they exist.
On that happy note! (Sorry to be depressing)
Have a Great Weekend. Chin up, our King is coming!
.
Totally agree that the worst is yet to come, but am thankful that all of "this" is only temporary. Sorry to hear about your church situation. I am BEYOND blessed to attend a church where my pastor has no qualms with stating right and wrong based upon the Bible, and standing firm in his beliefs. He is a wonderful pastor and saturates his sermons in Scripture and encourages us to not just listen to him, but dive into the Word ourselves and verify the Truth he's teaching. I've joked with him a few times about him taking us to the "wood shed" after particularly difficult sermons that convict. I'm happy to say that even then, they were given in love and to make us a stronger and better congregation. In fact, God is blessing us right now with people getting saved, baptized and joining our church. It's extremely encouraging in this day and age to know that God is still moving in lives, despite the horribleness around us. Even more so for our church, since our former pastor stole from our church and put us in serious financial debt. But God was faithful and brought us our current pastor right when we needed him most.
ReplyDeleteHope you find a church that will unashamedly preach that there is only ONE Way, Truth and Life.
Your church sounds wonderful, Amy. Such a rare find these days. God Bless your pastor!
DeleteFriday 6th,
ReplyDelete"Morning, MaryLu."
Thank-you, once again, for sharing something so personal with us, and of the gravest importance !
I can totally appreciate and respect your reasons for wanting to find "a body of believers who are truly committed to Jesus above their own lives".
I did not find your message depressing at all ... but -- mega sobering, heartfelt, and truthful. I have always said: "I want a Pastor who will tell us what we "need" to hear, not what we "want" to hear. Huge difference. Someone on fire for Jesus, truly believing in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the spirit ... preaching and believing in the Word of God !
Hoping that you and your husband will be able to find such a Church. I'm sure God will honour that and help you.
Thanks for sharing your heart. Take care, and, God Bless, In Him, Brenda
Thanks so much, Brenda. How are the churches up there in Canada?
DeleteOh ..... and "Amen" to .... "chin up, our King is coming" !!! Amen, and, Amen !!!
ReplyDeleteAmen MaryLu. I find your comments refreshing and encouraging. Sometimes the number of people who attend each Sunday is the goal. Some of those will fall through the cracks and will be turned against the " Church" and never set foot in it again.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we --who know and love our Lord and Savior-- need to keep our Light from Christ so bright-- it.so those who are seeking will be drawn to it. We need to be so deeply grounded in the Word of God so that it is not a second nature of us --but the most important part of our daily life.
Watching and listening I see the state our country is in and how far in the darkness we have become. Politically Correct is caving in to the darkness where good is bad and bad is good.
I will be praying you find a church that God has chosen for you. I appreciate you and your gift of writing and keep being the woman God intends you to be.
Yes, it's so sad that filling pews seems to be the ultimate goal and measure of success! While it Should be making disciples... because if you make true disciples.. then they will go out filled with the Spirit and make more disciples. :-)
DeleteI truly believe a time is coming when only those "deeply grounded in the Word of God" as you said, will survive.
Amen, amen - MaryLu!! Yes - interesting, but disturbing facts; they're also very sad facts, although, as you commented - they are part of the latter times as stated in the bible. I agree that much of the hatred for Christians comes through the gay and transgender rights movements, and will continue to increase. We definitely need to become stronger in our faith - the gay and transgender population, for the most part, is much stronger in their convictions than a lot of Christians and their churches. What upsets me the most is their demands for freedom to practice their beliefs, yet they deny Christians the same right.
ReplyDeleteSorry for your incident with the cover designer, at times - the most vocal offenders against Christ are those who are under conviction themselves. Let's pray that is the case in the encounter you had, and if not - hopefully, he was convicted afterward, or will be. Praying for you and hubby to find a church where you will be spiritually "fed", rather than one interested in congregation size, etc..
Love, hugs, and prayers!!
Shared post!!
I couldn't agree more, Bonnie. The gays preach a tolerance they aren't willing to grant to those who disagree with them. I love gays and transgenders. God loves them too! They need Jesus desperately. But I'm not going to say what they are doing is right when it isn't, just as I wouldn't say that stealing is right or lying. Anyway, I could go on... I prayed for that cover designer. You may be right. God may be tugging on him. :-) Hugs!
DeletePraying for encouragement Marylou! Our pastor to is not afraid to speak God's Word and I'm grateful for that! I've made up my mind to stand with Him.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed, Jennifer! :-)
DeleteOur family is experiencing difficulty with the Seeker Finder churches as well. We have been "church shopping" since we moved to a new area. Churches are plentiful, but those that feed mature Christians rather than preach the watered down gospel are not. We will keep your family in our prayer for finding a strong body of believers. Please keep our family in pray also.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for being outspoken about your faith - I find that to be very encouraging!
You must be in California, Loraine! LOL Sounds like what we're going through. I will definitely pray for God to lead your family to the group of believers. Thanks for your prayers, too! Blessings...
Delete