Many believe that our nation is known for Christianity. I find this rather interesting considering every time I turn on the news or read newspaper, I see that there are not Christian values. God is absent in each headline and story all the way from business and politics to family and features.
And, stats show how much of a reality this has become. Consider these trends:
A recent report "A Decade of Change in American Congregations, 2000 - 2010" authored by David A. Roozen found that "... more than 1 in 4 American congregations had fewer than 50 in worship in 2010, and just under half had fewer than 100. Overall, median weekend worship attendance of your typical congregation dropped from 130 to 108 during the decade." (Source: CNN Belief Blog)
Sixty percent of Americans can't name five of the Ten Commandments, and 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married. (Source: USA Today)
Seventy percent of the people, 23 to 30 years old, are nowhere to be found in church on a regular basis for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. (Source: OneNewsNow)
There is a great disconnect between the culture we live in and the church. Culture saturates us with sex, pleasure and materialism and yet we wonder why we have a hard time getting people to church. It is almost as if churches have had to begin to compete with culture and entertainment to even fill seats.
We need a change and that change is to reconnect with God, but this can only happen one individual at a time. I'm encouraged as I travel the nation and speak to ministry leaders. Many have taken these statistics to heart and are challenging individuals to seek Him first. If we can continue challenging each other and asking God for a change, there may be hope for our nation yet.
I, personally, challenge you to pray for our nation and also for the leaders of it. Pray that individuals will turn to God in all situations. Pray that we can become a nation sold out for God.
-- Jay