The Way We Express Our Faith Is Changing

People are spending more time involved in religious activities, and spending more money on religious products and services, than at any time in the past fifty years. However, there are a number of trends in the way people practice their faith that must be considered before we can accurately assess the overall health of the Church today.

Church attendance. Overall attendance at Christian churches has slumped somewhat; people are going less regularly, and are becoming more selective. Worship remains an art that most people have tried--and tens of millions continue to invest in each week. However, nearly one-fifth of all churchgoers now attend more than one church, usually on a rotating basis, in order to meet their spiritual needs and satisfy their theological curiosity.

Small groups (cell groups) never really seem to have caught on; fewer than one out of every five adults is presently active in one. Sunday school remains an activity reserved primarily for the children of churched people.

Personal Scripture study. Fewer people are reading the Bible these days (one-third do so in a typical week), largely because we are less inclined to read and fewer people believe that Bible is an accurate representation of truth.

Church commitments. While people are deeply interested in faith and seeking a more intense connection to God, they are apparently too busy to devote much time to their search for meaning.

Twenty years ago, those most committed to their churches averaged four blocks of time during the week to corporate religious activities; today, the most committed church people allocate two blocks per week. With one of those blocks typically being the Sunday morning worship service, that leaves only one other segment of their weekly calendar open to church-related activities.

Community building. Because of this decline in weekly interaction, building a sense of community within a church has become one of its greatest challenges. People are anxious to make and maintain friendships, and the church has emerged as one of the few places left where they can do so. However, the potential for developing a network of church-based relationships is undermined by the lack of time people devote to church activities, their poor relational skills, and their disinterest in establishing a deeper commitment to the churches they attend.