Inside the Numbers

The power of a unified Church, full of believers who have truly embraced the term, "Christ-followers," cannot be underestimated. In Ephesians 4, we can read a description of a devoted Church:
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

You could say that our commonality as believers, who are committed to praying, worshiping, and serving in agreement with one another, has the potential to be a powerful force in this world. The Church has been placed here to bring a manifestation of the glory of God, and we each have been gifted and directed so that we might carry out His mission and display the truth.  With God's Word as the foundation, we have been sent out to a world that needs to know Jesus.

+++++

The expression of the truth of God in our culture has been entrusted to the Church, and in 1st Timothy chapter 3, Paul writes:
14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;
15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

It was late last year when Pew Research released some new numbers about the religious practice of Americans, and you might say there's a "good news, bad news" scenario - a majority of Americans self-identify with Christianity, but the number is declining.

A summary on Pew's website gives us more information. A key statement says: "Self-identified Christians of all varieties (including Protestants, Catholics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Orthodox Christians) make up 63% of the adult population." So for the purposes of this survey, some who would not be necessarily considered to be "Christian" are included. And, just under 3 out of 10 American adults are considered to be religious "nones" These are: "people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or 'nothing in particular' when asked about their religious identity.

The decline in the percentage of Christians in America is concentrated over on the Protestant side, with 40% identifying in that group, a 10% drop over the past 10 years.  The survey summary also notes that:

Currently, 60% of Protestants say “yes” when asked whether they think of themselves as a “born-again or evangelical Christian,” while 40% say “no” or decline to answer the question.

The summary adds: "24% of U.S. adults describe themselves as born-again or evangelical Protestants, down 6 percentage points since 2007."

There are a few other talking points that I'd like to mention.  Almost a-third of those surveyed indicated they attended a religious service at least once or twice a month, with 25% saying they go once a week, at least. This is slightly down, only about 2 percentage points, from 2020.  Just over half of Protestant Christians attend at least once a month, with almost 2/3 of born-again or evangelical Christians attending monthly, according to the survey data.

Almost 8 out of 10 self-identified born-again or evangelical Protestants say they pray every day. 45% of all American adults indicate daily prayer.  But, a third of American adults don't pray at all or do so seldomly.

80% of born-again or evangelical Christians indicate that religion is important to them - that's double the percentage of the population at large.

While these are not overwhelming numbers, still born-again Christianity continues to possess significant numbers, but we have to build on that - quantity is important, but if it is not being leveraged to win souls and change lives, then we have to be concerned about the quality of our overall corporate walk. You know, every American could claim to be Christian, but if that faith, that proclamation is not controlling his or her life, then we still have a spiritual deficiency.  But, if we are taking part in passionate prayer and engaged participation in worship, there is the potential for an expression of the power of God through His body. 

We can also consider what each of us brings to the corporate worship setting.  Certainly, each of us benefits from hearing God's Word each week and worshiping together, but what we experiencing corporately is affected by our individual practice of faith. Do we have time set aside for personal worship, Bible study, and prayer?  And, furthermore, what is the fabric of our prayers?

Evangelical Christianity has the numbers; on paper, you might say, we are a formidable force - and it is certainly written that we can impact the world.  But, we have to live it out.  We are not called to be a statistic, but a sold-out believer in Christ.  I have heard the term, "Christ-follower," used nowadays rather than Christian. That can be helpful in considering the extent to which we are living out our faith.