{"id":1663,"date":"2008-03-26T22:04:42","date_gmt":"2008-03-26T22:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=1663"},"modified":"2010-12-22T12:27:03","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T17:27:03","slug":"6190","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/03\/26\/6190\/","title":{"rendered":"Covenanter Publishes “The American Church in Crisis”"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (March 26, 2008) \u2013 Dave Olson jokes that his new book has lots of pictures. They\u2019re mostly charts and graphs, actually, but they illustrate what he says is no laughing matter\u2014church attendance is far lower than most people believe and has been declining.<\/p>\n

\"\"The American Church in Crisis,<\/em> recently released by Zondervan, uses data Olson collected from 200,000 churches, beginning in 1990. Olson is director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church and director of the American Church Research Project.<\/p>\n

According to Olson, only about 18 percent of Americans attend church each week. That is far below the 40 percent previously reported in other studies. Adding to the crisis for churches is that attendance is not keeping up with population growth.<\/p>\n

Results of the new study differ from previous reports because of methodology. Previous studies were based largely on polling interviews, which cannot be trusted, Olson says.<\/p>\n

People tend to exaggerate the number of times they go to church, he explains. As a result, the number of times they claim to have attended church doesn\u2019t line up with the data from the congregations.<\/p>\n

Olson acknowledges church figures aren\u2019t always correct. He adds, however, that congregations are more likely to state a figure that is too high rather than one that is too low.<\/p>\n

Olson knew the raw data would not be congruent with what people have said about their attendance. \u201cI\u2019ve been working with this for such a long time, so there were no surprises for me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Numbers are not the only indicator of the effectiveness of a congregation\u2019s ministry, Olson says. \u201cThe health of our churches is much more complex than their attendance, but attendance can be a good indicator.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book concentrates on more than numbers. Olson looks at why the change is occurring, what can be done to reverse course, and how congregations can reach new generations.<\/p>\n

Olson is not necessarily a prophet of doom. He hopes his study will wake up the church to its current situation and prompt new responses as hard times have in the past. \u201cI think historically the church often has been very resilient in times of change,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately churches don\u2019t die at 70,\u201d he says. \u201cThey can live to be 200.\u201d But growing older doesn\u2019t come easily, especially during a time when many people advocate an individualized faith or no longer trust the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to be able to let the Holy Spirit work through us. It will take 15 to 20 years of hard work to keep up with population growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olson\u2019s book outlines a four-step process for churches: observation, evaluation, introspection, and action. He hopes the book will lead pastors and other church leaders to begin the process. Each chapter includes questions for reflection and discussion. The book is available at Covenant Bookstore.<\/a><\/p>\n

Olson summarized the results of his study in two articles that previously appeared in the Covenant Companion.<\/em><\/p>\n

Good Intentions, Empty Pews<\/a><\/p>\n

Empty Pews, Signs of Hope<\/a><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (March 26, 2008) \u2013 Dave Olson jokes that his new book has lots of pictures. 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