U.S. Population v. the church

America set to hit 300 million and counting ...

Sunday, June 25, 2006; Posted: 8:32 a.m. EDT (12:32 GMT)

As of June 25, there were 299,058,932 people in the United States. U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby -- or immigrant -- will be Hispanic.

The headline is from CNN.com and I am sure if you like to read the news like I do you have already heard about the story.

300 million...thats a lot of people. Still small compared to countries like China and India, yet large when you compare it to Canada or Australia. For America, 300 million is a lot, and there is no place in the States that has not felt its effects.

Now I am not intersted in commenting on where this is a good or bad thing. I simply want to comment on this reality in regards to the church.

An older person in the church who grew up in NH feels that it has changed a lot over the years. She is right, it has. There are more people which means more homes, more roads, more cars, etc.... It is a fact of life no matter where you live.

Nashua use to be a town on its own. Now it is an "edge city" on the outskirts of Boston Metro. Not long ago, there was countryside between them, not anymore.

Sadly, as the population of the nation increases, churches continue to stay the same or shrink. The net growth of the PCA was less than 100 people for 2005. That is counting all 1500+ churches in the U.S. and Canada. Less than 100 people, that is sad if not discouraging.

Now there are many factors for this stat, but no matter how you slice it, the church is not growing at the same rate as the population. The PCA is not the odd ball in comparison to other denominations. Some denominations do not even have a net gain, but rather a loss.

This does not discourage me. If anything, is reminds me of one of the most important things I need to do in ministry....PRAY. More than ever, the church needs to pray and ask God for His guidance and wisdom.