This week I read two different blog articles that served as reminders to me about why Crossroads is examining the possibility of multisites (one church - many locations). First, the evangelical church is falling behind. Even though there has been growth in the number of churches, it's not nearly enough to keep up with the population growth. There are more unchurched people in America than ever!
Statistics regarding churches in America according to Starting New Churches on Purpose by Ron Sylvia, lead pastor at the Church at the Springs in Ocala, Florida. (Thanks to Vince Antonucci for the link.)
- We had a net gain of 4,600 churches from 1990-2000, however to merely keep up with population growth during that same period we would have needed a net gain of 38,202 churches.
- In fact, the combined membership of all Protestant denominations has declined by 9.5%, while the national population increased by 11.4%.
- The number of unchurched adults in America has nearly doubled from 1991 to 2004.
- If the current trend for church attendance continues in America, by 2050 only 11.7% of America will attend church.
The second article I read this week states that by 2010, George Barna predicts that 50 million Americans will rely upon the internet for their religious experience. Sadly this is not, I think, what Jesus had in mind when it comes to the concept of the community of the church. I believe we should take advantage of every technological innovation and potention ccommunication channel to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The internet is a great technological innovation and provides a great channel for the church to reach people. But the internet is a tool - it is not a church.
The question we have to ask ourselves is, "What are we doing about it? What tools (internet) and places (multi-sites) can we offer to bring people into relationship with one another and into relationship with Christ?" These are the questions that consume much of my waking hours these days.
