Church growth and decline
30/04/16 05:32
Every once in a while I read an article that reports on the results of a study by the Pew Research Center that reports that church attendance, especially among Roman Catholic and Protestant mainline congregations is declining. There may also be references to generational differences in church attendance . A popular topic is ministry to and with millennials. I’m starting to get to the point where I only skim such articles these days simply because they are boring. The decline in church attendance has been a reality and widely reported for all of my career as a minister. Differences between generations marked my adolescent and young adult years and have been visible for millennia. William Strauss and Neil Howe’s book, “Generations” was mildly amusing when it first came out but that was 25 years ago and a lot of contemporary generational theory is rehashing the issues raised in their book.
These are realities that have been a part of the landscape of religious life for all of my life and they are realities that will continue after my lifetime.
Although readers of this blog are not the ones writing the articles, I’d like to make a few observations about what is not going on. I’ve already read enough articles whose authors think they understand the dynamics of church growth and decline to know that there are plenty of theories that are useless in the real business of church life.
It is not about the music. Yes, it is true that you can tell the difference between churches by the beat at the door. Yes, there is a popular genre of music that is called “Contemporary Christian” that can be distinguished by slightly more modern rhythms and the use of different instruments. It can also often be distinguished by decidedly lightweight theology, but that is a different blog entirely. But the key to church growth and decline is not based in music. I have a hymnal from the 19th century that refers to the struggle between “old” and “new” hymns. Innovation and tradition have been in play in church music since Roman times. People of all ages have differences in their preferred music. There are teens walking around schools today with classical music loaded on their devices. There are seniors in nursing homes who have different tastes in music and who dislike the music that is beloved by their peers. Praise bands exist in declining congregations as well as in growing congregations.
Music is important in worship and a congregation that uses one type of music exclusively will attract a particular following. Usually those congregations also have detractors who once attended but have switched in search of something different. I happen to prefer worshiping with a very diverse congregation, so I enjoy many different styles of music in worship. I also enjoy working in the midst of community, so I favor types of music that involve participation and are led by groups rather than by individuals. And I enjoy working in a volunteer institution. Although we have a few part time paid musicians at our church, their jobs are to facilitate groups of volunteers. Even when attendance is light our choir has more participants than the praise band at churches that are much larger than ours.
Faithfulness is not measured by counting the number of people. One way to have a large church is to make the level of commitment very low. Show up when you feel like it and be entertained is the mode of some congregations. While that works for those congregations, it is not the manner of expressing faith that appeals to me. Big box churches are like big box stores - mass marketing that searches for the lowest common denominator. Wal-mart’s slogan “Always low prices. Always” might be adapted for some congregations: “Always low commitment. Always” Take a look at the agencies in the community that are providing direct services to help people. Whether it is Habitat for Humanity or Love INC or Hope Center or any of a dozen other institutions, you’ll find that their volunteers and financial resources often come from small congregations. The attendance on Sunday is not an indicator of how engaged in ministry a congregation will be. There are plenty of churches who spend all of their resources on institutional maintenance and have little impact beyond their own doors. Both small and big congregations can be places of service, but not all churches make mission a priority.
Identifying a target audience leads to a congregation where the people are all the same age. Part of the decline in mainline congregations is that they were very effective in recruiting members of the World War II generation. Right after World War II congregations filled up with young adults starting their families. They enjoyed being together and they formed strong communities. Then they grew old together. I’ve observed this phenomena in other congregations with different generations. I know a church that was filled with young families in the 1970’s that is now filled with people in their sixties and seventies and has very few children in attendance. It is a strong community, but it has been a community of people who are all the same age.
It is much more difficult to build a community of all ages than to form a monolithic culture where everyone is the same. However, a truly multi-generational community is a very meaningful place to belong and explore faith. Grandparents are great teachers of the value of faith and mentors for younger people who are seeking answers. Churches that target a specific age group tend to experience growth at certain phases of their history but also experience decline. While a young person might be interested in a congregation that has many different ages, they might be less attracted to a congregation that is exclusively elders. If they choose a congregation that is all people their own age they will become a congregation of elders with the passage of time.
So we will continue to seek to be faithful in the midst of seasons of growth and seasons of decline. We will seek to serve others without counting the cost. And, for at least the foreseeable future, we will be a congregation where one member’s favorite song is disliked by another member. You might not hear your favorite song every Sunday, but if you stick with us you’ll hear a lot of different kinds of music and we’ll get to know you well enough to include your songs in the mix.
These are realities that have been a part of the landscape of religious life for all of my life and they are realities that will continue after my lifetime.
Although readers of this blog are not the ones writing the articles, I’d like to make a few observations about what is not going on. I’ve already read enough articles whose authors think they understand the dynamics of church growth and decline to know that there are plenty of theories that are useless in the real business of church life.
It is not about the music. Yes, it is true that you can tell the difference between churches by the beat at the door. Yes, there is a popular genre of music that is called “Contemporary Christian” that can be distinguished by slightly more modern rhythms and the use of different instruments. It can also often be distinguished by decidedly lightweight theology, but that is a different blog entirely. But the key to church growth and decline is not based in music. I have a hymnal from the 19th century that refers to the struggle between “old” and “new” hymns. Innovation and tradition have been in play in church music since Roman times. People of all ages have differences in their preferred music. There are teens walking around schools today with classical music loaded on their devices. There are seniors in nursing homes who have different tastes in music and who dislike the music that is beloved by their peers. Praise bands exist in declining congregations as well as in growing congregations.
Music is important in worship and a congregation that uses one type of music exclusively will attract a particular following. Usually those congregations also have detractors who once attended but have switched in search of something different. I happen to prefer worshiping with a very diverse congregation, so I enjoy many different styles of music in worship. I also enjoy working in the midst of community, so I favor types of music that involve participation and are led by groups rather than by individuals. And I enjoy working in a volunteer institution. Although we have a few part time paid musicians at our church, their jobs are to facilitate groups of volunteers. Even when attendance is light our choir has more participants than the praise band at churches that are much larger than ours.
Faithfulness is not measured by counting the number of people. One way to have a large church is to make the level of commitment very low. Show up when you feel like it and be entertained is the mode of some congregations. While that works for those congregations, it is not the manner of expressing faith that appeals to me. Big box churches are like big box stores - mass marketing that searches for the lowest common denominator. Wal-mart’s slogan “Always low prices. Always” might be adapted for some congregations: “Always low commitment. Always” Take a look at the agencies in the community that are providing direct services to help people. Whether it is Habitat for Humanity or Love INC or Hope Center or any of a dozen other institutions, you’ll find that their volunteers and financial resources often come from small congregations. The attendance on Sunday is not an indicator of how engaged in ministry a congregation will be. There are plenty of churches who spend all of their resources on institutional maintenance and have little impact beyond their own doors. Both small and big congregations can be places of service, but not all churches make mission a priority.
Identifying a target audience leads to a congregation where the people are all the same age. Part of the decline in mainline congregations is that they were very effective in recruiting members of the World War II generation. Right after World War II congregations filled up with young adults starting their families. They enjoyed being together and they formed strong communities. Then they grew old together. I’ve observed this phenomena in other congregations with different generations. I know a church that was filled with young families in the 1970’s that is now filled with people in their sixties and seventies and has very few children in attendance. It is a strong community, but it has been a community of people who are all the same age.
It is much more difficult to build a community of all ages than to form a monolithic culture where everyone is the same. However, a truly multi-generational community is a very meaningful place to belong and explore faith. Grandparents are great teachers of the value of faith and mentors for younger people who are seeking answers. Churches that target a specific age group tend to experience growth at certain phases of their history but also experience decline. While a young person might be interested in a congregation that has many different ages, they might be less attracted to a congregation that is exclusively elders. If they choose a congregation that is all people their own age they will become a congregation of elders with the passage of time.
So we will continue to seek to be faithful in the midst of seasons of growth and seasons of decline. We will seek to serve others without counting the cost. And, for at least the foreseeable future, we will be a congregation where one member’s favorite song is disliked by another member. You might not hear your favorite song every Sunday, but if you stick with us you’ll hear a lot of different kinds of music and we’ll get to know you well enough to include your songs in the mix.