Where Are All the People?

OK, hook your hands together and say it with me – Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all…. Hey! Where are all the people?

Good question; one that the Barna Research Group has been studying since 1984. I finally got around to reading the results from Barna’s “State of the Church Series, 2011” and it ain’t looking too good for churches. No huge surprises there for those of us who follow cultural trends, until I read about the Buster generation (those born 1965 to 1983) results. Then I had to ask, “What’s up with this?”
For you research geeks, here are the highlights:

• Churches continue to lose ground with overall attendance, Sunday school participation, and volunteerism.
• Trends also indicate a continued rise in Christian spirituality independent of church involvement. Yes, that’s right. The percentage of “born-again” Christians rose from 35% to 40% over the past 20 years. But they’re not going to church!
• Over the same time, church attendance declined from 49% to 40%, Sunday school attendance and volunteerism both dropped by eight percent, and the unchurched population rose from 24% to 37%.
• Our largest generation, the Baby Boomers (those born 1946 to 1964), continue to lead the downward spiral in overall church participation.

Out of these dismal results shine a few hopeful rays among the Buster generation (27-47 year olds) for churches. The research indicates that:

• Eighty percent of Busters own the Christian label. That’s a nine percent increase since 1991.
• Volunteering at a church and weekly Bible reading increased by nine percent.
• Making a personal commitment to Jesus rose by 12% and born-again Christians rose by 14%.

Still with all these spiritual growth markers, the percentage of unchurched Busters increased by eight percent.

Does it seem like more Busters are embracing Jesus, his word, and his actions, but not his church? To me, these results say that more Busters are “being the church” and not “going to church.”

Maybe this generation truly is redefining what church means as a movement and not an institution. Maybe the survey only included the traditional model of church and Busters are finding church in secular settings with smaller groups of believers. I’m sure many more explanations exist for this gap between spiritual growth and church attendance. But the message should be clear to many churches that they are missing the boat on a whole generation’s spiritual movement.

I think it is an exciting time for our churches. But only if they are willing to step outside the traditional model and engage the Buster generation in their spiritual journey. This will require churches to reconsider membership (or lack thereof), participation, spiritual enrichment, and community engagement practices.  I’ve visited several churches who are redefining their “doing church” approach. Constant readjustment, tweaking, planning, and proving is required.  And yes, it’s hard and relentless, but isn’t it worth the effort to mobilize a whole generation for Jesus?
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“State of the Church Series, 2011” can be found at barna.org/faith-spirituality. Posted July 26, 2011.