Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 37

Seven Reasons We Preachers Don’t Always Know What Our Church is Thinking . . . and a Reason to Get a “Know Your Church Report”

I can’t remember how many times I was surprised by what my church members were thinking, even though I was their pastor. What I thought was the case wasn’t always so. How does that happen?

1. We assume we hear everything in the course of ministry. We know we don’t, but we act as if we do. After all, we’re constantly with our church folks over the course of a week, and we’re always talking with them.

2. We assume people tell us what they’re thinking. In many cases, of course, they do (and even painfully so at times). Many others, though, don’t tell us anything. They don’t tell us when they’re rejoicing over our ministry, and they don’t tell us when they’re struggling with it.

3. We assume everyone in the church is comfortable coming to us. We’re the shepherds. We love them. We want them to come to us with concerns. We tell them that, inviting them to set up a meeting. Still, some folks simply aren’t willing to bring their issues to the pastor—even though they may talk with others.

4. Sometimes those struggling with the church are planning their response behind the scenes. I’m not arguing that’s a right move, but I am saying it happens. Sometimes we don’t know about a problem until the forces have already united against it. They’ve intentionally kept their distance.

5. We focus more on telling than on listening. After all, that’s our job. We proclaim the gospel. We cast vision. We make announcements. We give advice. We do counseling. We lead staff. We do so much communicating proactively that we sometimes fail to listen, even when others are seeking to share their concerns.

6. Sometimes our heart and mind are already thinking about the next place of service. We’re trying to pastor the church we currently lead while also dreaming about the church where we want to be. When our heart’s divided like that, we’re likely not even paying attention to what’s happening around us.

7. We never ask them what they’re thinking. This may be, in fact, the primary reason we don’t always know what our church is thinking. Seldom do we take opportunities to hear from folks like small groups, focus groups, or student groups. Even less often do we seek to survey the entire church about their thinking.

That’s the reason I’m such a fan of the “Know Your Church Report” available through Church Answers. I’ve used this survey in some format for more than 20 years, and I find it to be an incredible resource to understand your church. I encourage you to consider using it.

 

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What Is the First Step on the Path to Discipleship after Someone Joins the Church?

They have visited your church frequently. They felt that your church should become their own church home. They went through a membership class. They are now officially part of the church body.

Now what?

We get that question, or questions similar to it, on a regular basis at Church Answers. In essence, church leaders are asking us to suggest a path of discipleship for their church members. Where do they go after they join the church and complete a membership class?

The Common Path

We typically suggest that church leaders emphasize the importance of regular gathering or attendance in worship services. Additionally, we recommend that members get in a small group. Church members get connected relationally to others in small groups. They tend to serve in ministries more readily and give more faithfully if they are in small groups.

We know if a church member attends worship faithfully, is active in a small group, serves in a ministry, and gives generously, he or she is likely to grow as a disciple. Such is the reason we’ve included these key points on the discipleship path.

But we knew something was missing. That led us to reconsider the first step in the path of discipleship. 

A Reconsidered First Step

The conversation went something like this in a consultation where we were helping a church develop and clarify a process of discipleship. “Thom,” the pastor began. “We love the path you’ve given our church. It provides a lot of clarity and gives us a clear plan forward.” He paused for a moment. “But,” he continued, “we really need something else beyond these points on the discipleship process. We need our members to know the big picture of what it means to live like a believer in Christ.”

Comments like those from that pastor led me to write I Am A Christian. After someone becomes a member of the church, they should get the big picture of what it means to live for Christ. Such is the purpose of this work. I Am A Christian offers straightforward biblical guidance on serving, witnessing, giving, and praying, all within the local context of your church.

The late Francis Schaeffer addressed this issue from the perspective of engaging culture over fifty years ago in his classic book, How Should We Then Live? He knew how critical it was for believers to know how to live in a challenging culture. I Am A Christian addresses that same issue in the context of the local church.

The Process Begins

That same pastor told me he planned to use I Am A Christian in all of the church’s small groups. He felt that every church member needed this guidance not only to become involved in the life of the church, but to know how to live outside the walls of the church.

It is with great excitement that I announce the release of I Am A Christian. We can only anticipate how God will use this book as the first step beyond church membership.

I pray it will make a difference in the lives of Christians.

I pray it will make a difference in the health of churches.

____________________________________

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Why Work from Home Won’t Work for the Church

A philosophical tug-of-war is occurring in the work world. To what degree should people work from home, and how much time should they spend in the office?

Some CEOs are mandating a permanent return to the office on all workdays. Others allow their workers to be remote, even working in other states. Many are splitting the difference with a hybrid approach.

Studies are beginning to show the value of working in an office setting with your colleagues. The bonds between companies and workers are fragile and only made weaker by too much remote work. People say they want remote work because it satisfies short-term desires, only to find out later they suffer because of it.

What about the church?

Long gone are the days of required office hours from 9 to 5 on Mondays through Fridays. Good riddance. Pastors don’t need to sit at desks for hours each day. But the pendulum should not swing too far the other way. For example, it would be unwise if every church staff person worked from home and rarely came into the office.

I’m not advocating for rigid office hours, but having a couple of office days is important. Why? Five reasons stand out.

Collaboration: God did not design each member of the body to work in isolation. Church teams work best together and not in silos. Communication tools like Slack can help fill in the gaps, but there is something to the ability to swing by someone’s desk and ask a question.Mentoring: Physical presence is crucial for relationships to be healthy. Experienced and knowledgeable pastors can adapt to remote work because of the years spent doing onsite ministry. Younger and newer pastors need time in person with mentors to develop and mature. So much of ministry is learned by observing and repeating older pastors’ good habits and strong disciplines.Creativity: You can listen to each instrument of a symphony independently, but the expression and emotion of the song are absent unless you hear everyone playing together. There is a creative energy that is lost through a screen.Productivity: Some work is suited for a home environment, like writing sermons. A lot of church work, however, requires interaction with people or the church campus, such as first impressions, worship ministry technology, and child safety procedures in the classroom. Without time on site, the prep work would be rushed on Sundays.Camaraderie: Jokes and laughter are much better in person than through a screen. My team enjoys harmless office pranks that would otherwise be impossible with remote work.

What is an example of a schedule that works? I will share my typical week. I work six days a week and am onsite three and a half days a week. Part of the onsite time, however, may include breakfast and lunches with church members, community leaders, and other pastors.

Monday: Writing sermons from home all day.Tuesday: Meetings onsite at the church. Available for lunches with members.Wednesday: Working from home in the morning and at the church after lunch.Thursday: Office work in the morning and afternoon, available for lunches with members.Friday: Working from home, usually writing.Saturday: Sabbath and family day.Sunday: Onsite morning to evening and available for lunches and dinners with members.

I’m not advocating for rigid office hours, but having a couple of office days is essential. For my church team, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are when almost everyone is onsite. 

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Five Questions for Churches as Worship Gatherings Become Smaller

The trend toward smaller gatherings was slow but perceptible prior to the pandemic. That trend is much more noticeable now.

Church worship gatherings are getting smaller.

Two major factors are contributing to this trend. The obvious factor is an overall attendance decline in churches. Many congregations have fewer members and attendees each year.

The second reason for smaller worship gatherings is “horizontal growth.” That means, in addition to multiple services on Sunday morning, churches are moving to multiple campuses, multiple sites, multiple days, and multiple venues. In other words, attendance is spread over potentially several different places and times.

The two reasons can be almost polar opposites. The first reason takes place in declining churches. The second reason usually takes place in growing churches. 

We at Church Answers are asking church leaders and church members five key questions regarding smaller worship gatherings. We are concerned that these smaller sizes are being used in some churches to accept decline or to become comfortable about not reaching the community. Here are our five questions:

1. Do you know why your worship gathering or gatherings are smaller? If your church has more than one service, we encourage you to follow the trends in all of the services. Of course, we also encourage you to follow the trends in a single gathering.

2. Because smaller worship gatherings are more accepted today than in the past, has your church become comfortable or complacent with attendance decline? For sure, numbers are not our ultimate goal. But if a church is losing people faster than it is gaining, it could be an indication that the church has become inwardly focused.

3. Has your church become less evangelistic as smaller worship gatherings are more accepted today? This question is similar to number two, but it focuses specifically on evangelism. We know from our research that evangelism is not a priority in many churches today.

4. Does your church keep worship attendance records? Again, the purpose of counting is not to be numbers obsessed. The purpose is to engender accountability and to be able to plan for future needs. Any church of any size can develop a system to count worship attendees each week without being a distraction in the worship services.

5. Does your church publish attendance for all members to see? This question might cause a level of concern. We know that fewer churches publish attendance records than at any point in the past few decades. Some leaders rightly say that they don’t want numerical growth to become the focus of the church. But our research indicates a church is more likely to reach people if it makes attendance records available to church members. Again, it engenders a level of accountability. We recommend that churches publish monthly averages or, at the least, quarterly averages.

Frankly, I realize I am going against the grain with some of these questions, particularly the last two questions. But we are seeing the trends. Our burden for churches is not how big the church is, but how obedient the church is to the Great Commission.

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No Longer My Own

2010, Afghanistan. Aid workers were in the midst of helping a group of remote Afghan villagers, especially mothers and their children who needed it most, with eye care and other medical needs. Suddenly gunmen appeared and lined the workers up. They shot each worker one by one, including Cheryl Beckett, age thirty-two. The only survivor was the Afghan driver, who was reciting Koranic verse.[1] Their Land Rovers were also riddled with bullets and found next to the ford of a swollen river. In an official Taliban statement in Pashto, at the time claiming responsibility, a key charge was the assertion that they’d found Dari language Bibles.[2]

According to her parents and her heartfelt journal entries, Cheryl graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a global passion for love and justice. Having already visited numerous countries before Afghanistan, she developed a clear call to spread Christ’s love—a call that led her to a village near Kabul in 2005.

The sponsoring group was the International Assistance Mission, a Christian charity group that had worked in Afghanistan since 1966. It reported that she had joined the medical team for their three-week trip as a translator, helpful as a Pashto speaker for the local women. Her family’s release states that “Cheryl loved and respected the Afghan people. She denied herself many freedoms in order to abide by Afghan law and custom.” 

Her father, Reverend Charles Beckett, had little doubt about her driving faith. After her death, he read her journals and reflected:

She wrote in her journal, which has been a spiritual oasis for me. Over and over again I read this theme: no longer my own, I’ve been bought by Christ, with His own blood. I want to know Him better.  

And then she wrote, “I want to die to myself.” And then she asked the question to herself, “What does that look like? How do I make that tangible?” That is what she devoted her life to, knowing Him but knowing Him by sacrificially suffering in order to show Him. [3]

“No longer my own.” The heart cry of Cheryl has been the impulse of hundreds of thousands of Christian martyrs over the centuries. No sacrifice is too large. What some people may not realize is that Christians are still dying cruel deaths throughout much of the world. Millions have given their lives since the fall of Rome, and it is estimated that today thousands die annually for their faith in Jesus. Most of these modern stories are not legendary; in fact, the majority of them are unknown. That’s why Johnnie Moore and Jerry Pattengale have sought to compile a new book of martyrs that includes contemporary martyrdom stories with ancient ones (The New Book of Christian Martyrs). By even the most conservative accounts, we are experiencing a new generation of martyrs.[i]  There were, in fact, more martyrs in the last century than in all the previous Christian centuries combined. In solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are experiencing persecution and martyrdom, we should echo them: “no longer my own.”

 

Learn more by exploring The New Book of Christian Martyrs by Johnnie Moore and Jerry Pattengale.

About the Authors:

Johnnie Moore is a popular speaker and acclaimed human rights and religious freedom activist known for his consequential work at the intersection of faith and foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. He is president of JDA Worldwide and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders. Rev. Moore’s many awards and honors include the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s prestigious Medal of Valor. He was twice appointed to the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, and in 2020 was named one of America’s 10 most influential religious leaders. 

Jerry Pattengale is inaugural University Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University and holds distinguished posts at Sagamore Institute, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Waverley Abbey College (UK), Excelsia College (AU), and Tyndale House–Cambridge (UK). He was a founding scholar of the Museum of the Bible (Washington, DC). In 2021, he received the National Press Club’s Vivian Award and a Telly Award for the TV series, Inexplicable: How Christianity Spread to the Ends of the Earth. 

[1] Rod Nordland, “Gunmen Kill Medical Aid Workers in Afghanistan,” New York Times, August 7, 2010. The accounts vary slightly on details; see also Jason Motlagh, “Will Aid Workers’ Killings End Civilian Surge?,” Time, August 9, 2010.

[2] Liz Robbins, “Ten Aid Workers Killed by Taliban in Afghanistan,” Desert News, August 7, 2010.

[3] Reverend Charles Beckett in The Global Impact Bible, senior ed. Jerry A. Pattengale (Franklin, TN: Worthy Publishing, 2017), 1649. Cheryl’s testimony accompanies 1 John 3:16.

 

[i] This is a key point made by John L. Allen Jr., The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution (New York: Image, 2013). Also, see websites from the following organizations: Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, The Voice of the Martyrs, and Open Doors. For a list of how the apostles died, see David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30­-AD 2200, Part 4: Martyrology (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001). 

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The First Seven Things to Do When a Child Accepts Christ in Your Church

A child in your church decides to follow Christ. There is no greater decision!

Now what?

As a pastor, I’ve sat with numerous parents over the years and walked through the next steps. These conversations are some of the most rewarding in ministry!

Only recently did I sit down and create a checklist of items. Something I wish I had done sooner.

1. Celebrate with gusto. Your child made the greatest decision to follow Christ. Have a party! As you celebrate, point back to Christ. Make sure everyone knows this party is about what Jesus has done.

2. Purchase a Bible for your child. There are many age-appropriate Bibles, and I recommend the New Living Translation. You can look at several options in the Church Answers bookstore.

3. Mark the date. If you can’t remember the exact date of your salvation, don’t worry. You’re still saved. But there is something special about marking the date. You can bless your child by recording the date of their salvation.

4. Record a video of your child’s testimony. The video will help you remember the best details of this glorious moment. You will cherish hearing your child proclaim faith for years to come. Even more so, this video will help your child remember the greatest decision they ever made. We all go through seasons of doubt, especially when we enter our young adult years. You may find this recording helpful when your grown child deals with inevitable doubts and questions we all have about our faith.

5. Write a handwritten letter to your child. Consider giving your child this letter on their eighteenth birthday or some other occasion marking a transition to adulthood.

6. Commit to a church. Frankly, you cannot equip your child in the faith without help. Everyone needs a church.

7. Seek pastoral guidance. Make an appointment with your pastor or someone you trust in church leadership. Your church leaders will likely be able to help with the next steps. In many churches, baptism by immersion will be expected. For example, my church has a baptism class and programming recommendations for families.

These seven steps, plus four others, are contained in my newest e-book, The Greatest Decision: Taking the Next Steps After My Child Accepts Christ.

Every pastor and children’s ministry leader should have this resource. You can download it FREE and give it to as many families as you want for as long as you want.

The e-book also includes a video guide covering these eleven actional steps to help parents cultivate their child’s spiritual growth.

There is no greater decision than the one to follow Christ. I hope this free resource benefits you and your church.    

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Seven Signs You May be Losing Your Love for Your Church . . . and What to Do about It

It happens. Even those who deeply love their local congregation sometimes go through situations and circumstances that test that love. In some cases, that love slowly erodes—almost imperceptibly. Here are some signs you might be losing your love:

1. Your enthusiasm for gathering with the congregation is waning. There was a time when you excitedly got ready for church, but not now. Whether it’s a small group or a worship service, your attendance is increasingly only an obligation. You still go, but with little zeal. 

2. You pray less for your church and its leaders. That happens because your desire to support them and intercede for them is changing. In fact, you might even be struggling with figuring out how to pray. 

3. Your long-term friendships in the church seem less and less significant. You’re not even sure what’s happened, but you don’t hang out with other church members like you once did. Fun with others seems almost non-existent. 

4. You don’t talk with joy about your church like you once did. Some time ago, you naturally and passionately talked about your church. You invited anybody and everybody to join you in attendance. That zeal, though, is declining. 

5. You increasingly see only the negative in your church. Good stuff might well be happening, but you don’t see it. Something is clouding your vision—and any remaining love you have isn’t strong enough to see through it. 

6. You don’t sing during worship like you used to. You sing with little joy, low volume, and weak worship. At times, you might even only “mouth” the words rather than sing at all. Your heart just isn’t in it anymore. 

7. You just know things have changed. You can’t put your finger on it, but something’s different. Every day seems to pull you more away from your church. 

If you find yourself somewhere in this post, here are some ways to start loving your church again:

Be honest. Talk to God. Tell your pastor or small group leader. Get some other believers praying with you and for you. Confess to God if needed. Sometimes our own sin or bitterness turns our heart cold. Confession is a must in those cases. Don’t run—keep serving. Backing away is not the best way to reignite love for a congregation. Stay faithful. Keep using your gifts as an act of love for God and others—even when your heart doesn’t “feel” that way. Start looking for glimpses of what God’s doing in your church. Look for the negative, and you’ll find it; watch for God’s hand, though, and you might just see it. The latter is better. 

Let us know how our Church Answers family might pray for you.  

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Seven Considerations If You Are a Church Member Planning on Leaving Your Church

You’ve been with your church for a while now. Something is now urging you to leave the church. We will not get into evaluating your reasons. Let’s just say you have made the decision, or you are close to making that decision.

Let’s assume you are not moving to another location. You are leaving your church because you think you should make this exit.

While I do not want to judge you or argue with you, would you consider reading the rest of this article? Would you look at the following seven considerations before you make the decision final?

1. Make certain you have prayed about the decision. It is not a move to be taken lightly. Ask God to check your heart to see if the prompting is His or your own. 

2. Ask yourself if you are making the decision because of personal preferences. Perhaps the sermon seemed too long. Maybe the music is not the perfect blend that you like. Still yet, maybe you have decided “you are not being fed” spiritually. That is a common reason given by exiting members. Please know, though, the next church you attend will not meet all of your preferences and desires either. Church membership in its truest biblical form is self-sacrificing and forgiving (see 1 Corinthians 12 and 13).

3. If you are using the exit as an escape to quit churchgoing altogether, please don’t do it. We have seen church members, elders, and deacons leave churches saying one thing but dropping out of church life completely. Please remember that God gave us the local church as His plan A for His mission, and He did not give us a plan B.

4. Understand that your decision will hurt many people. In fact, such decisions are one of pastors’ greatest hurts. Many take it personally. Others in the church are discouraged and confused when members, particularly active members, leave the church.

5. Please do not leave the church if you haven’t reconciled with those with whom you have conflict. Jesus was clear and unwavering on this matter: “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:24, NLT).

6. Don’t leave with complaints and criticisms. Such behavior is not good for the Kingdom, and it certainly reflects poorly on you. And by all means, keep your negativity off social media.

7. If you still decide to leave, give your pastor a good and honest reason why you are doing so. Don’t leave in a huff of silence. Don’t give a reason that is not the true reason. Your pastor has been your shepherd. Your pastor likely has made sacrifices for you of which you are not aware. It would be cruel and unbiblical to walk out with no explanation or a bad explanation.

Obviously, I believe that dropping out of your church should be rare and biblically reasoned. I am not questioning your motive or judging your heart. I am simply asking you to consider the seven points I just made.

Thank you for taking time to read these words. May God bless you. And may you truly be in His will.

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How Your Church Can Help the Overlooked Children Affected by Abuse and Neglect

The turning point for me occurred at a funeral. I was holding a four-year-old child I did not know. His mother had passed away after overdosing on a dangerous mix of fentanyl and cocaine. The family contacted our church and asked for a pastor to officiate the funeral. I’ll never forget the young boy’s words.

“Are you going to help bring my mommy back?”

I didn’t have words for him. Only tears.

He was placed in a foster home. Thankfully, it was one full of love and support. At about the same time as the funeral, a local newspaper headline caught my attention: “Bradenton is opioid overdose capital of Florida. And still no one knows why.”

Every year, hundreds of children are removed from their homes in our county. Over half of them are directly attributed to the substance abuse of parents and guardians. Most of the children removed are under the age of five. I did not have the right words for the four-year-old, but his question prompted me to act. I could not bring his mom back, but my wife and I could be foster parents for children in situations like his. So we got our license and began our foster journey.

Foster children are one of our nation’s most overlooked and underserved groups. Most communities struggle to find placements for these children. Local churches in the United States have more than enough homes to solve the problem, but few Christian families are pursuing fostering.

What happens when people in your congregation start fostering children?

Your church is woven into the fabric of the community. In my role at Church Answers, I’m often asked, “How can my church better serve and reach the community?” There are many ways to answer the question, but one answer is obvious. Start a fostering movement in your congregation. Caring for foster children forces you to be an active part of your community. You interact with social workers, struggling parents, judges, and police officers. Fostering weaves you tightly into the community and allows your church to be a thread pulling everyone together.  

Your church is recognized as a solution to community problems. The issues producing foster children are often the core sins plaguing a community. When people in your church foster, the neighborhood tends to view you as helpful. Foster children are the result of the worst problems in the community. Inviting them into your church homes makes you one of the best solutions for the community.

Your church is pushed outward with God’s mission. The church is not designed to be a shield protecting the Christian bubble of safety. Rather, the church is a vehicle engineered by God to send people into the darkest corners of the neighborhood. Fill your church with foster children, and your people will be filled with a desire to do gospel work.

Your church is compelled into a posture of selflessness. I hear the excuse all the time, “I couldn’t foster because it would be hard to give the child back.” I understand the sentiment. Indeed, my wife and I live in this paradox. The purpose of fostering is more than raising a child. It’s about reuniting a family. You care for children and encourage moms and dads. Fostering is a weighty burden that will bend you hard in the direction of selflessness. Is it painful? Yes, sometimes. Is it worth the stretch? Always.

When Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket floating on the Nile, she saw a baby and said, “This must be one of the Hebrew children” (Exodus 2:6, NLT). This must be one. One child saved. Imagine the desperation of Moses’ mom, placing him in the papyrus basket and letting him drift away from the safety of her arms.

Imagine the courage of Moses’ sister, Miriam. At significant risk, she keeps watching over the basket. She is an advocate. She stays close to the crisis to help. She risks everything when she reaches out to Pharaoh’s daughter.

Imagine the audacity of Pharaoh’s daughter. She is part of the family committing genocide, but she becomes a person of power who uses her position to do what is right. The child in the basket moves her. A child in need should move us all to action.

There was a tremendous risk to all the women in this story, but it did not stop them from doing the right thing.

What if the church looked at the foster system as a floating papyrus basket? What if the people of the church opened the basket and had the same response as Pharaoh’s daughter?

This must be one.

Don’t let these children continue to drift.

Your home is the promised land for them.

 

If you want to get involved with helping struggling children and families, I encourage you to reach out to One More Child . 

 

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Four Types of Church Members Based on Their Frequency of Attendance

The New Testament, from Acts 2 to Revelation 3, is about the local church. That is a big portion of the Bible!

The local church is God’s plan A to carry out his mission on earth,  and He did not give us a plan B.

Sure, the local church can be messy. It’s made of imperfect members like you and me. We are all sinners. No local church is close to being perfect.

But God made it clear that Christians are to be connected to a local church. Anything less than our commitment and devotion to our church is nothing less than disobedience to God. 

And the base level of our commitment should be gathering. Our most common form of gathering is the worship service. But I stand amazed at how many Christians view the gathering of church members as just another optional activity. It competes with sleeping in, busyness, sports, and just plain apathy.

The watching world sees our lukewarm commitment and rightly concludes we are not committed to the Savior who gave us our churches. If we don’t take Jesus seriously, why should they?

At Church Answers, we have been engaged with church leaders for years. We asked them to discern the base level of commitment of their church members. Though these numbers are not precise, they do represent the essence of what we’ve learned. We classified church members into four categories according to their frequency of attendance. We did not include church members who never attend. They should not be on church rolls anyway.

Category                Frequency of AttendanceEstimated % of Church MembersCore                3 to 4 times a month30%Marginal                 1 to 2 times a month25%Fading                4 to 10 times a year25%Cultural                1 to 3 times a year20%

 

Core 

For the core, the local church is a priority. They demonstrate commitment more than offering excuses. This group likely provides 80% to 90% of the church’s financial giving. They are the first to volunteer and the last to complain. They are the core of the church. They are not perfect, but they are mostly a joy to many. We estimate they account for about 30% of the membership in a typical church.

Marginal

Some churchgoers might be uncomfortable with our categorization of someone who attends once or twice a month as marginal. Frankly, many churches have elders and deacons in this category. But these members are, at best, every-other-week attenders. Their commitment to Christ’s church is lukewarm. We estimate that the marginals account for 25% of the membership in a typical church.

Fading

A church member who only attends four to ten times a year is likely on the way out of the church. They will soon be in the last category, cultural, or they will drop out altogether. They are “fading” away. We estimate that the fading account for 25% of the membership in a typical church.

Cultural

In the past, this category of church members was much larger.  The cultural church members attend church sporadically, one to three times a year, just so they can say they are a part of a church. They think it is necessary to identify as a Christian or a church member to be accepted in the community for business, political, or relational reasons. Though we estimate that the cultural account for 20% of the membership of a typical number, this number is declining. Most people today do not think there is any cultural benefit to identifying with a church.

The Church’s Response

One of the major reasons for the lessening commitment of church members is, simply put, many are not Christians. They are Christians in name only. They have minimal commitment to Christ’s church because they have no commitment to Christ.

We need to be cautious about estimating if groups of church members are Christians. We cannot ultimately know their hearts. Still, based on ongoing anecdotal evidence, we estimated the percentage of Christians for each category of church members:

Core: 90% are ChristiansMarginal: 60% are ChristiansFading: 30% are ChristiansCultural: 10% are Christians

I recently wrote a book, I Am a Christian, to address this reality. While this book can certainly be used in a new members’ class, my primary purpose was to speak to those who are already church members but are not likely Christians. The book asks straightforward but biblical questions that get to the heart of an individual’s belief. 

My prayer is that I Am a Christian will open the eyes of church members who are not Christians, and that it will be a great resource of assurance to those who are Christians. Even now, church leaders have begun using this book as a next step of discipleship in their churches.

The Essence of It All

To be absolutely clear, my theology does not suggest that church membership is a condition of salvation. Salvation is by grace alone when we put our faith in Christ.

But the evidence is strong, if not overwhelming, that many church members have not truly become followers of Christ. A commitment to Christ without a commitment to His church is contrary to the teachings of the New Testament.

An inactive church member, in many ways, is an oxymoron. It is time to address the problem of marginal, fading, and cultural church members.

Because, ultimately, it is a gospel problem.

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Thom’s book, I Am a Christian, was recently released. It is specifically designed as a next step of discipleship for church members. You can get it on sale here.

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