National Back to Church Sunday, slated for Sept. 18, has over 6,000 churches registered so far who will participate in this movement to draw Christians back to Sunday service.

NBTCS, an interdenominational movement, seeks to increase church attendance nationwide by helping church leaders through free resource materials and other means so that churches can reach out to their communities to get more people to go to church.

NBTCS, since it was launched in 2009, has held an annual day to enable churches to equip their parishioners so that they will be encouraged to invite people among their immediate circle of relatives and friends to go to their church.

So far, the 6,000 participating churches have extended over 500,000 invitations within their communities to go to church on Sept. 18. Their efforts to do this were enhanced through tools such as the booklet, “reDiscover Church,” and through the help of over 100 community coordinators.

“It is the privilege of every Christian to invite someone to church. By taking part in National Back To Church Sunday, believers can introduce the hope of the gospel to their communities by welcoming people into their local congregations,” Philip Nation, LifeWay Research’s director of ministry development, said.

On Sept. 18, NBTCS hopes that thousands of unchurched people will go to church, simply because someone they know invited them, and they will be welcomed in a church nearby. It is hoped that in this way, they will rediscover church. NBTCS was conceived with the goal of reversing a trend in the U.S. towards declining church attendance.

Why people don’t go to church

Many Christians stop going to church not for reasons of faith, but oftentimes, for other reasons.

For example, they may have experienced a falling out with their former church, drifted away, become too busy, moved, or experienced a change in their life circumstance. Many of these people might be open to going back to church.

The evangelistic 37-page booklet, “reDiscover Church,” discusses the 10 most common reasons why people leave church, and offers 10 reasons why they may want to consider going back.

Included is a portion where a local church can leave its contact information and include a personal letter from its pastor.

Other free resources for churches are online tools so that a church can assess itself, and based on its results, determine ways to increase membership.

It is hoped that some 10,000 churches will participate in NBTCS this year.

Churches may avail of the services of a citywide coordinator guide and NBTCS specialist to guide churches and denominations.

A study by LifeWay Research discovered that 82 percent of those who are unchurched are inclined to go to church if they are invited by a relative, friend, neighbor or co-worker.

Last year, 3,800 churches signed up with NBTCS and experienced an average 26 percent rise in church attendance.

Churches who wish to register with NBTCS may go to http://backtochurch.com/roster.

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An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the Bible is either the inspired or actual word of God, a Gallup poll revealed recently.

The Gallup poll which was taken from May 5 – 8 surveyed 1,018 adult respondents, aged 18 or older, from all 50 U.S. states.

The poll divided respondents into three categories, namely:

• Those who believe the Bible is inspired by God, but do not believe it should be interpreted literally.
• Those who believe the Bible is the actual word of God and who interpret it literally.
• Those who don’t believe the Bible is God’s word, and who consider it a collection of legends and fables written and compiled by men.

Up to 79 percent of Americans either believe the Bible is inspired by God (49 percent), or believe it is the actual word of God (30 percent) and adhere to a literal interpretation of the Holy Book.

Only 17 percent of respondents said they believe the Bible is a collection of fables and legends.

Overall biblical view

Overall, the largest percentage of Americans view the Bible as God inspired (49 percent). This is up by four percent from 1977 (45 percent).

Bible literalists, at 30 percent, have retained consistent numbers in the last two decades since 1992 (at 32 percent) to the present. The lowest percentage of literalists was in 2001 (27 percent).

However, today’s percentage of Bible literalists today is 10 percentage points less than in the 1980s (at 40 percent); and eight percent less than in the 1970s (at 38 percent).

Biblical view and frequency of church attendance 

A pattern was indicated regarding churchgoing habits and biblical view. Regular, weekly churchgoers are largely either biblical literalists (54 percent) or view the Bible as God inspired (41 percent).

Most of the people who go to church on a monthly or bimonthly basis tend to believe the Bible is inspired by God (66 percent). Only a few are literalists (22 percent).

Non churchgoers and rare attendees mostly believe the Bible is inspired by God (46 percent), while a smaller percentage of non churchgoers believe the Bible is a collection of legends (34 percent). Only 16 percent are literalists.

Biblical view and educational level

There is also a link seen between level of education attained and biblical view. The percentage of literalists tends to decline as educational levels rise. Most literalists have only finished high school or less (46 percent), while some have had some college (22 percent). The percentage of literalists is almost the same among those with college degrees (15 percent) and those with postgraduate degrees (16 percent).

The percentage of those who believe the Bible is God inspired is highest among those with college degrees (64 percent); and almost equal among those with postgraduate degrees (55 percent) and those with only some college (56 percent).

The percentage of those who believe the Bible is a collection of fables is highest among those with postgraduate degrees (25 percent). The numbers are the same for those with college degrees and those with only some college (19 percent).

Biblical view and church denomination

Among Protestants and Christian denominations the numbers seem to be closely split between literalists (41 percent) and those who say the Bible is God inspired (46 percent).

Most Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by God (65 percent), followed by Catholic literalists (21 percent) and those who see it as a collection of legends (9 percent).

Most people with no religion believe the Bible is a book of legends (63 percent), followed by those who see it as God inspired (30 percent). Only five percent are literalists.

Biblical view and political affiliation

All three political parties largely believe the Bible is inspired by God, with Republicans leading (at 51 percent), followed by Independents (50 percent) and Democrats (46 percent).

The second most prevalent biblical view group for all three parties is Bible literalists led by Republicans (42 percent), followed by Democrats (27 percent) and Independents (23 percent).

More Democrats (25 percent) view the Bible as a collection of legends compared to Independents (21 percent) and Republicans (six percent).

Biblical view and ideology

Conservatives tend to be equally split among literalists (46 percent) and those who believe the Bible is inspired by God (45 percent). Most moderates (55 percent) and liberals (48 percent) consider the Bible to be God inspired.

More liberals adhere to the belief that the Bible is a collection of legends (31 percent) compared to the percentage of liberal literalists (14 percent).

Among moderates, there are more literalists (23 percent) than those who view the Bible as a collection of fables (20 percent).

Significance

Overall, most Americans still believe that the Bible is the actual word of God, whether they adhere to a literal interpretation of the Bible or view it to be inspired by God. This is consistent with the general view that America is largely a Christian nation and that most Americans believe in God.

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A new study shows that highly educated Americans are more likely to get married, go to church regularly, and say that they are happy with their marriages.

The 2010 edition of The State of Our Unions also said that highly educated women are least likely to become single parents, and tend to have the lowest incidence of divorce, according to CNN.

This is a clear reversal of trends. In the 1970s Americans with moderate education—working class Americans or blue collar workers—were more likely to go to church regularly than those with college degrees, The Washington Times said.

Today, more Americans who are college graduates (34 percent) go to church regularly compared to moderately educated Americans (28 percent). W. Bradford Wilcox, author of the study, said that while college graduates tend to be more progressive regarding social issues, “when it comes to their own lives, they are increasingly adopting a marriage mindset and acting accordingly,” The Washington Times said.

CNN described the “marriage mindset” as a tendency to integrate church attendance and faith in marriage as a way of life.

Wilcox is the director of the National Marriage Project of the University of Virginia. The report was jointly released with the Center for Marriage and Families from the Institute for American Values, The Washington Times reported.

Other findings of the study are:

• College educated American women are less likely to become single mothers at 6 percent compared to 44 percent with moderate education, and 54 percent among the least educated, CNN said.
• College educated Americans, at 69 percent, will more likely say they are “very happy” with their marriages, compared to 57 percent of moderately educated Americans, The Washington Times said.
• College educated Americans experienced a decline in divorce/separation in the first 10 years of marriage at 15 to 11 percent in the last 40 years, compared to a 10 percent among least educated Americans, and an increase by one percent among moderately educated Americans, CNN said.
• The teenage daughters age 14 of college educated mothers are more likely to be living with both parents (81 percent), compared to teenage daughters age 14 of moderately educated women (58 percent), The Washington Times said.

Wilcox told CNN, “On average, marriage plays a key role in securing the welfare of children. Children are much more likely to thrive if they are raised in a married home with their own mother and father.”

Implications of study

Christianity Today said the study shows that in middle America marriage is being assailed by high rates of divorce and single parenthood, which were once more prevalent among poor communities.

The movement of these social problems to the middle class will adversely affect the social and emotional wellbeing of children. According to Christianity Today, adults who do not marry nor stay married also tend to be less likely to save for the future and to succeed.

The Washington Times noted that only 30 percent of Americans are college graduates, while 58 percent of Americans are moderately educated, and 12 percent, high school dropouts.

If the trend continues, Wilcox said, “it is likely that we will witness the emergence of a new society,” where a stable family and upward mobility will be “beyond the reach of too many Americans,” The Washington Times reported.

To offset the trend, Wilcox told CNN there is a need for more church and civic outreaches, which help establish meaningful relationships and bring purpose to life. More effort must also be exerted to convey to general society the benefits of marriage, especially in regard to the children.

Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/06/marriage.trouble.report/index.html?section=cnn_latest

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/6/faith-gap-seen-among-married/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/decemberweb-only/58-11.0.html?start=2

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Part 1: The Burn Factor

Why are more men and women claiming to have been burned by churches?

Can you recall a time in your life when someone in a church hurt your feelings? A pastor? A fellow congregant?

Have you been ignored by a church? Shunned? Judged? Insulted?

Does the very idea of going to church disgust you?

The phrase “I was burned by my last church” is becoming increasingly spoken within Christian circles and religious culture as a whole. What exactly is this phenomenon of church burning?

Church attendance surveys and investigative research from 2008 reveal some rather striking percentages.

According to current religious data gleaned from multiple sources and polls and cited by ReligiousTolerance.org, “Confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low.” Although there is a supposed increase in the interest of spirituality in North America, it has yet to manifest itself in the form of increased church attendance.

The data shows a gradual decline in attendance of church services within the Protestant denominations since 1992. Between 1992 and 2003, attendance dropped by as much as 13 percent. Interestingly, graph charts reflect a sudden leap in church attendance just after the September 11^th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

However, Only 53% of Americans consider religion to play an active and important role in their lives. This number has been steadily declining since the aforementioned September 11^th attacks.

Over the past ten years, there has been a significant increase in the number of church home groups and small group Bible studies. Unfortunately, this may very well be reflective of the poor perception many longtime churchgoers have adopted concerning churches.

Pat Howell, 60, has attended several churches since childhood and admits he hasn’t been “burned” by a church.

“I think hurt is the right word,” he clarified. “Not burned.”

However, during the course of our interview and subsequent discussions, Howell reminisced of one particular church in which individuals even drove away the pastor.

“Someone in the church decided they didn’t like him [the pastor]. They started to say things about him that weren’t true. There were questions about the sexual preferences of the music minister. Someone brought all of this up. To this day I still know who it was and I hate them. I hate to say that, but I do. [This person] started just enough of a rumor to kill the spirit in that church. They did everything horrible that you could possibly do to a preacher. They cut the power off to his house. They were mean to him. After about six months, he left.”

Howell recalled the blatant hypocrisy present in the church community.

“You wind up going to churches and looking at people that you knew had caused someone else’s pain and suffering. The church did not split, but it was not the same.” He added, “They didn’t turn me against my faith, they turned me against that [particular] church and the idea of attending that church.”

Unfortunately, Pat is not alone. There are too many stories like his. Many are worse.

More and more men and women are referring to their churches and fellow believers with such disheartening adjectives as: condemning, tactless, smug, fake, unforgiving, arrogant, ignorant, homophobic, intolerant, pushy, rude and unloving.

But what is at the heart of church attendance decline? Is there a problem with the people? Is there a problem with the churches? Why are more and more Christian men and women church hopping? And perhaps the most important question to be pondered: “What does a real, honest and healthy church look like?”

Stay tuned for Part 2 and all subsequent sequels of this feature, which will dissect the elements needed for healthy church functionality and growth.

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