From 35,000 to 15,000 Feet: Evangelical Statistics in the U.S. and Canada

Statistics gathered by The Church Planting Center, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. J.D. Payne reveal the presence of evangelical Christians in the United States. Dr. J.D. Payne has compiled this information from several sources and created a powerpoint that displays the number of evangelicals in each state, broken down by county. However, Payne notes that the definition for "evangelical" is a broad one and therefore the numbers in the statistics are higher than in actuality.
He gathered this data to give missionaries information to formulate better strategies. Dr. Payne says that "We have proven ourselves in areas of research related to other countries... but little knowledge of the same people group living on the other side of our city." This data is to give missionaries a better idea of the reality in our own backyards. This information can truly help the missionally minded church. Missionaries will be able to create an effective plan to impact an area.
I like to focus on areas of the world outside of the United States. I think this data really puts into perspective the need for the gospel even here in the United States.

The Crisis of the American Church

The American Church is on a steady decline. David T. Olson, writer of The American Church in Crisis, notes that 3500-4000 churches close each year in America. And, according to The Condition of the Church in America, 1400 pastors leave the church permanently each month. The cause: moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention with the church.
The declination of the church is surely a multifaceted issue with a plethora of problems and possible solutions. What I find interesting is the rate at which pastors leave the church. How is it that 1400 pastors a month leave the church? A sudden change of heart? Or perhaps unexpected responsiblities arose. I saw that a reason listed for a pastor's leaving the church is from them being spiritualy burnt out. I think that taking a leadership role in a church, especially becoming a pastor, has incredible spiritual strain. And, although the reasons for such strain remain unlisted, I believe some of these strains could be avoided and therefore a church could retain its leaders. I think the way some churches are set up put an incredible amount of pressure on certain people in the church, like the pastor, while other members of the church feel no pressure at all. For instance a pastor who is really involved with the community and a congregation that only shows up on Sunday. The amount of work the pastor does, in comparison to the congregation, seems unfair. Certainly leaders must put in extra hours but not to this extreme. I think putting more responsibility on the congregation or the "average church goer" would ease the burden of a pastor. I visiting a church in Washington D.C. and the pastor tells us that the church's lease on the space they were renting for the past years to hold services was now being closed. He then asked for the entire congregation to fast and pray with him and to look for a solution. In that way, some of the pressure is eased off the pastor and distributed to other members, making them more accountable.

Philadelphia- Set the City on Fire

The Ember Cast's maiden launch landed in the City of Brotherly Love the weekend of January 22nd. We stayed in and around Chinatown, partnering with a local Chinese Christian church. LT, pastor of the Chinese church and our guide around the city, explained to us that Chinatown was originally built to keep the immigrant population from expanding into the surrounding parts of the city. There are literally walls built around Chinatown and buildings placed specifically to keep the immigrant population living and working in a condensed area. At first I was shocked. My thinking tells me that if there is a new culture emerging in a community that isn't going to cause direct harm to anyone, I should help them grow and I can learn something from them. Then again, I am part of the "world culture generation", where other cultures are viewed as interesting instead of as a threat to "the American way of life." In fact, LT's church is the first church to move and expand outside of the boundaries of Chinatown. And, after talking with some of the kids from the Chinese youth group, I found out that most of them live in suburbs outside of the city.
I think this observation points out how different generations of church or christian leaders can view a different culture. Recently, and even currently, there have been churches and other christian organizations that have become territorial and therefor hostile towards outside help. LT was telling us that in his generation, church pastors and leaders tend to work in solitude rather than partner with other organizations, even if the other organizations are christian and trying to get the same goal accomplished. LT said that there was a sense of ownership over the church, which, among other things, caused churches to become isolated from one another and from the rest of the world. In the same way the builders of Philadelphia wanted to keep the American Philadelphia separate and different from the Chinese Philadelphia because they felt this new culture would be a threat, different churches (even ones of the same denomination or lack thereof) will not associate themselves with one another. This solitude can be detrimental to the impact that the church (as in the body of believers in an area) can have on its community because there are churches competing against one another and against other community-based organizations.
LT has branched out from the rest of his generation by connecting his church in the community so that the community can help the church, and the church can help the community. Although this kind of partnership seems like common sense, most leaders in the church world of his generation are not engaging their community in this way. The next generation of leaders in the church will have to be connected to their community. The old model of "do it yourself" has proved to be lacking. I feel that if a church engages in its community in such a way that the relationship it has with local community oriented organizations is almost symbiotic, we can see in a short time how a church can mold its community, both in what is seen (community clean up, rebuilding) and in what is unseen (mindset, moral).

For a more in depth look at the Ember Cast's stay in Philadelphia, visit
http://faithinhighdeff.blogspot.com/