The health of America’s congregations remains a challenging situation, according to a new report from Hartford Seminary’s (@HartSem) Faith Communities Today.
A Decade of Change in American Congregations 2000-2010 shows that despite efforts at innovation, bursts of vitality, and increased civic participation, faith communities are entering this decade less healthy than they were at the turn of the century.
In 2010, more than 1 in 4 congregations had fewer than 50 people in the pews. And although the number of megachurches doubled in the last decade, the growth of the evangelical church seems to be plateauing and their congregations beginning to shrink.
· Fewer members
· Older members
· More tech-savvy
· Less funds
· More fights
The findings dovetail those of the Barna Group’s report, State of the Church, announced in July. A story in the Sun Sentinel says that study, covering 20 years, finds a general slide in adult church attendance and volunteer work at churches, and that most people don’t normally read the Bible or trust it to be totally accurate. Yet 84% of Americans call themselves Christian, and half say they’ve made a “personal commitment” to Jesus.
Also see Religion News Service (@ReligionNewsNow) article “Trends For US Churches Mostly Pointing Down, Says Report.”