By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 13,2023 | One aspect of our society deeply troubles me, for we see less and less positive in this area. It’s about the smaller and smaller influence that the traditional church has in our society.
Church attendance at Sunday services is dropping in many traditional Protestant churches. The membership is falling, too. And more churches are finding fault with their governance, often considering and even leaving their umbrella church organization. Other independent churches find discontent members forming smaller churches.
Yes, some may leave their previous church, but find contentment in another church, possibly for a picky reason. But all too often, these people do not merely move their membership. Many stop going to services altogether.
The Covid pandemic didn’t help the traditional church. Even when many churches started offering online services through the Internet, since more people had computers, this in some instances backfired. People found that they could stay at home, not worry about dressing up, and watch the services without leaving their homes. Some like it that way, having their services on the computer.
That, of course, destroys the element of “church family” worshiping together. Gone were gatherings in person for the sermon, the morning coffees before or after services, the Sunday Schools, possibly the mid-week services, and the whole concept of a friendly community within the church.
Covid kicked the church severely.
And many have not returned.
Others used this time to stop going to churches altogether. Some realized that the church, in an effort to maintain interest by providing “church on the internet” actually succeeded in encouraging people away from its doors. Many have not returned.
The church is missing in many people’s lives in other ways.
Participation in houses of worship continues to decline, according to studies. Twenty-eight percent of respondents in a national survey said they “seldom” attend religious services, and 29 percent of respondents said they “never” attend religious services. A decade ago, those figures were 22 and 21 percent, respectively.
Besides the falling numbers in church attendance and membership, the church is often not the choice of location for weddings. The newly sprung-up “event facilities” are competing with the churches, offering one location where there can be a service, with a reception after the wedding, often including dinner and dancing.
And have you noticed that not as many people are being buried from the church? Instead of being in the lofty surroundings of the traditional church, we have the antiseptic funeral homes providing this activity, often at a charge on the funeral bill.
There’s also a new way to name churches. They are no long “First Baptist” or “Mulberry Methodist” but are becoming churches with names not using the denomination. In effect, you can no longer figure out in advance what a church believes when it uses a name, that may tell you nothing, and perhaps even confuse you. Recognize that some of these “no denomination worship centers” are huge. This is one element of the church community which is growing.
We (especially in Gwinnett) often accept changes. Our diverse population has given us many ways to see change.
Yet we feel we are losing something, the very heart of our community, when our traditional churches are not thriving, have lower attendance and seem headed lower. Not all is positive in our lives in Gwinnett County.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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