From Tod Vogt, Executive Director, Mission Alive
Last week I shared Mission Alive’s first core conviction: God is still radically transforming human lives through Jesus.
CONVICTION #2
North American culture has all but entirely rejected organized religion – especially Christianity.
Christians have lost influence in the broader culture. In some places simply admitting you are a Christian will cause others to question your intelligence, your reasoning, and even your integrity. In other places, being a Christian can attract the ire of others who believe Christianity is the source of much abuse at the hands of leaders who have sexually molested children, committed adultery, or used church funds for their own selfish purposes.
Christianity has been losing ground in North America for years. Our numbers are shrinking and our cultural influence has nearly evaporated. Every year more and more churches close or merge – reducing the number of congregations within a community. In 2019, United States church closures surpassed new church starts for the first time in over a generation. Furthermore, studies show that regular attendance at Christian worship gatherings has been on a steady decline for over a decade while those who never attend regular gatherings is at an all-time high. This bears repeating: Approximately one-third of Americans never attend regular worship gatherings.
It is also important to note the percentage of teenagers who leave their Christian faith in the years after high school–some studies suggest it is between 60%-80%. These numbers suggest the shrinking influence of Christianity is going to accelerate in the coming decades.
This provides a sober but realistic snapshot of North American culture – our culture. If we hope to have any success in reviving the Christian witness, we must first take an honest look at how our neighbors think about faith. It is with this knowledge that Mission Alive exists to start faith communities that recognize and address the culture’s view of Christianity.