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Some Sobering facts

• 350,000 Churches in America Churchgoers are older than the general population
• 15 percent of teenagers attend church
• In 2000 31 percent of churches reported “excellent” financial health, by 2010 that number declined to 14 percent
• 4000 churches close each year 1000 new churches start each year
• Each year 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity
• From 1990 to 2000 membership of all Protestant denominations fell by 5 million while the U.S. population increased by 24 million
• Half of all US churches did not add any new members between 2010 and 2012
• Gallup and Barna report 43 percent of American Adults attend each weekend. However, actual attendance numbers from Orthodox churches say 18.7 percent attend on an average weekend.
• College age kids are 30 percent more likely to NOT attend church.
• LifeWay Research found seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who went to church regularly in high school quit attending by age 23. A third of those had not returned by age 30. That means about one-fourth of young Protestants have left the church. The Barna Group says six in 10 young people will leave the church permanently or for an extended period starting at age 15
• Why do 90 percent of Americans say they believe in God, but avoided church last weekend?
• 1 in 5 Americans say they have no religious affiliation (highest ever)
• Why do 88 percent of adults say their faith is important, but choose not to grow at church?
• 64 percent are open to growing in their faith, but a place that is different from a church? Why are some researchers predicting that 85 percent of Americans won’t worship at a church?
  • “I Feel Judged.” 87 percent of Americans feel judged by “church” people
  • “Church people are a bunch of hypocrites.” 85 percent of non-churchgoers make this claim
  • “Your God is irrelevant to my life. But I’d like to know there is a God and He cares about me.”  Only 44 percent of worshippers say they “experience” God at church.

Have you ever wondered about the positive benefits of attending a church service?

April 30, 2015 by Emilie McDuffie

All of this may be a little disheartening, however, upon closer examination the motivation behind most of the statements and facts is the heart. Because we live in a postmodern world and with this worldview comes life based on; Anti-intellectualism, Feeling, Pessimism, Despair for the present, Subjectivism/relativism, Pluralism/inclusivism , Distrust in science, Man is devolving.  BUT, I desire to show you WHY we should attend church….

Few people will argue that attendance in many churches in America is declining. Whether it is due to shifting cultural standards, apathy among Christians, or a younger generation that is suspicious about joining any kind of large organization, the church is working hard to adapt and attract new members. We here at Shelby Systems recently did some research on that subject and came up with some surprising and encouraging answers. Please feel free to share these documented study results with your pastor, fellow church members, and friends who don’t attend church regularly.

1. Church goers are more likely to be married and express a higher satisfaction with life. Church involvement is the most important predictor of marital stability and happiness according to the Heritage Foundation.
2. Church attendance boosts the immune system and decreases blood pressure. It may add as many as 2 to 3 years to your life according to the New York Times.
3. A 2010 Child Trends review indicates that kids who attend church are less likely to be involved in violence, theft, and vandalism or to struggle with substance abuse problems than their peers.
4. Teens with church-going fathers are more likely to say that they enjoy spending time with Dad and that they admire him according to a recent University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.
5. According to the Pew Research Center, frequent church goers are happier. Those who attend church services weekly or more, are happier than those who attend less often. Those who seldom or never attend services are the least likely to say they are very happy.
6. Church involvement moves people out of poverty. It is also correlated with less depression, more self-esteem, and greater family and marital happiness according to the Heritage Foundation.
7. According to the Hartford Institute, church participation leads men to become more engaged husbands and fathers.
8. A special report by the National Survey of Children’s Health indicates that church participation by an intact family is associated with a lower risk of developmental and behavioral problems in school age children.
9. Here’s a quote from a recent study: “Those who go to church more than once a week enjoy better health than those who attend only once a week. Overall the reduction in mortality attributable to church going is 25%. This is a huge amount in epistemological studies.” Researchers thought that perhaps this was simply due to having strong supportive relationships, but non-church centered groups didn’t experience that same effect.
10. Couples who attend church together report being more happily married and are less likely to divorce. Drawing upon three national surveys, University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox found that married church-going Americans across all racial and denominational classifications were more likely to describe themselves as very happy in their marriages than non-church-going respondents.

Going to church is not about having to clock in with God. Going to church will not earn you credits with God. Going to church will not improve your chances of God answering your prayers. Going to church will not make God love you more than He already does. So why go to church then, if church is full of judgmental people who will judge you and gossip about you?
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