Unchurched Population Near 100 Million

Here is one of the latest updates from George Barna and a follow-up to a previous post, "Do Americans Go To Church"

The Barna Group shows that one-third of the population is currently unchurched-meaning they have not attended a religious service of any type during the past six months.

"These results from Barna's research coincide with a book released this week entitled Jim and Casper Go to Church. The book describes the experience of a former pastor and an avowed atheist who together visited a dozen significant churches across the nation. Jim Henderson, who has been a pastor of small and large churches, interviewed the atheist (Matt Casper) during and after each church service they attended to gain insights into what it's like for an outsider to attend such churches (I read Henderson's other book a.k.a. LOST which I really liked). Among the congregations they visited were well-known ministries such as Willow Creek (pastored by Bill Hybels), Saddleback (led by Rick Warren), Lakeside (featuring Joel Osteen), and The Potter's House (home of T.D. Jakes).

What was discovered by 'Jim and Casper' was the relative indifference of most churched Christians to unchurched people; the overt emphasis upon a personal rather than communal faith journey; the tendency of congregations to perform rituals and exercise talents rather than invite and experience the presence of God; the absence of a compelling call to action given to those who attend; and the failure to listen to dissident voices and spiritual guidance to dig deeper in one's faith."

I think that the last paragraph is very interesting containing a lot of truth and good insight. Too often we think that we, the church, have to put on a entertaining, dog and pony show in order to get the unchurched to attend. We often have an attractional approach that argues we have to produce a slick, compelling product for people to come to us. When in essence what they really want is to see and experience is an authentic faith community that really connects with God and connects with others. (i.e. the emphasis on experiencing the presence of God and communal faith) And often times that "connection" isn't seen by the unchurched by merely asking them to come to us, but rather it compels the people of God to go out into the community, and be the people of God among them.

P.S. Some of these insights by Jim and Casper are similar to when the gentleman, Hemant Mehta made national news last year by selling his atheistic attention on Ebay. For the highest bidder, Hemant had agreed to attend a church with an open mind and report his findings.

I posted on 3 occasions on Hemant, the Ebay Atheist, Here, Here and Here. Check them out.

To read more about this Barna report go here:
Unchurched Population Nears 100 Million in the U.S.


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