Losing Ground: More churches, but even more people.

Consider these statements put forth by Jimmy Adcox a mentor partner.

America has more people, but fewer churches.

In other words, America has a smaller number of churches per capita than at any time in her history. Although the number of churches has increased by 50% in the last century, the population has increased by 300%. There are now 60% fewer churches per 10,000 persons than in 1920 (from 27 per 10,000 in 1920 to 11 per 10,000 in 1996). To put it another way, while there has been a gain of 4660 churches since 1990 in the U. S., we needed 38,802 new churches to keep pace with the population growth.7 We are falling farther and farther behind.

New churches adopt new methods and adapt new strategies for reaching people more effectively than existing churches.

We are living increasingly in a new post-Christian and postmodern culture. Modern churches for the most part are incapable of reaching postmodern people. It will take new churches to bridge the cultural divide that rapidly develops between older churches and a rapidly changing culture. Most of our churches are designed for us, not for people unfamiliar with church and with God. New strategies and church cultures must be implemented that “fit” new people needing Christ.

New churches are more effective at reaching lost people than existing churches.

Win Arn observed that four out of five American churches either have plateaued or are in decline. Many churches begin to plateau in their 15th to 18th year. 85% of churches in America are on the down side of this cycle. Of the 15% that are growing, 14 percent are growing from transfers rather than conversion growth.8 On the other hand, new churches (under 3 years old) on average reach twice as many new people for Christ as churches 3 to 15 years old, and more than 3 times as many new people for Christ as churches over 15 years old.

While existing churches may not be as effective as new churches in bringing new people to Christ, they have a powerful potential to support and nurture new church planters and church plants. We desperately need churches with a missional spirit to reach out beyond themselves and provide the resources, encouragement, and freedom to engage a new culture with the ancient message of the gospel.

Adcox's closing challenge. "What would it take for your church to help plant a new church somewhere in America? Whom could you encourage that has a burning desire to take the gospel to a new generation of people? What could you do personally to become an advocate for the most basic and effective form of evangelism – planting new communities of faith? It is not enough for a few churches to plant a church or two. We must come together and find a way to launch strategic church planting initiatives that can truly make a difference for the lost millions of America. " Read the whole article on Mentor Network