Here’s an interesting article from The Atlantic about why “Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church.” One of the fascinating insights Jake Meador offers is the shift in emphasis from church as the locus of community to a focus on individuality. In other words, church used to be about “we” and is now about “me.”
Category: Church Growth
Barna Report on Rising Spiritual Openness In America
If you watch television, you’ve probably seen the advertising campaign that overlays a contemporary setting with a spiritual theme, concluding with the phrase, “He Gets Us. All of Us.” This campaign is directed toward the Millennials and Generation Z as an acknowledgement to the rising spiritual openness in America. The research observes that there is…
American Beliefs Shift During Pandemic
Lifeway Research published a report that cites some major shifts in beliefs that were impacted by the pandemic. Two of these research points are of particular interest. First, 66% of Americans believe that worshipping alone or with family is a valid replacement for church attendance. Second, 56% of Americans do not believe that Christians have…
Where is The Growth of Nondenominational Churches Coming From?
Christianity Today recently posted research on the growth of nondenominational churches and where their growth is coming from. Their research reports that even though mainline denominations appear to be in a death spiral, those who leave the mainlines are not necessarily jumping to the trendy, new nondenominational congregations. Rather, they are identifying as the growing…
The Q2 Unstuck Church Group Report
The team at MortarStone enjoys a partnership with Tony Morgan and the Unstuck Group, who provide church consulting for churches across the spectrum. These churches range from those experiencing dynamic growth all the way to churches that are in decline. The Unstuck Group provides a great report each quarter based on the trends they see…
The Unstuck Group’s Quarterly Findings
Tony Morgan and The Unstuck Group released their quarterly report last week with the following data, some of which is expected and some you’ll find to be a pleasant surprise. What I Expected: In Person Worship Attendance is down 30% Online Worship is up 152% General Fund Giving is down 1.6% Giving Units/Households that Give…
Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations
Here’s an interesting article on the lack of racial diversity in American congregations. While racial diversity is still desired by the vast majority of pastors, it is by and large aspirational given they do not know how to achieve this goal. According to the study, a congregation is racially diverse when the predominant ethnicity is…
One Man’s Opinion
A work colleague shared this Twitter thread with our team this week from Eugene Kim. It’s not an article, per se, but he does make some interesting observations about the state of today’s Church from his personal experience. The thread has provided some interesting conversations. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Where…
Why They’re Not Coming Back to Church
Carey Nieuwhof has written a thoughtful article on post Covid attendance. In it he discusses why people are not coming back and what to do with those who have. The main takeaway surrounds the connectedness of people. Those who were connected and engaged have made their way back while those who did not have connections…
Why Church Leaders Can’t “Wait and See”
Tony Morgan of the Unstuck Group published an article at the end of 2021 titled, Church Leaders, We Can’t Afford to Wait and See. It is a must read for every Pastor, staff member, deacon or board member. If you aren’t currently holding a position in church leadership, I recommend that you share this with…
