Trends on church attendance

MoreCoffee said:

There are some television-only "churches" in existence. Their members "attend" by watching the broadcast.

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which raises the question of how to plug this fact into our discussion. Is such "attendance" part of new way of attending, in which case attendance wouldn't be down as much as is usually thought? Or is it not real attendance at all but more like a substitute for attendance?

People moving away from attending meetings and replacing it with "attending" a video broadcast is part of what accounts for some decline in meeting attendance. "House churches" accounts for some of it too. And the increasing movement towards being "spiritual" but not "religious" also accounts for some. The largest contributor to the decline is probably loss of Christian faith and failing to instill it in the next generation.

Well, that sounds impressive to me; and I have no concern at all about outreach that takes this form or, for that matter, if congregants who do attend church regularly supplement their worship life with a televised show of any sort. And of course people who cannot get to church because of work schedules or illness are much benefitted by the kind of programming you are describing.

The issue in this thread is, I think, only whether or not watching religious television is being made by some other people into an excuse for not attending worship services in person.

I think websites like this can be abused in that way, too.

The idea of self-communion aside, it definitely is the case that denominations which do not believe in the Real Presence and do not offer communion every Sunday can point to other Biblical reasons why attending regular church services is beneficial. It's not the case, therefore, that these people have no 'need' of church attendance (while Catholics, per MC, supposedly do, thanks to their belief in the importance of Holy Communion).

IMO....


I think we're ALL (in various ways) noting how radically our culture has changed..... Technology has been a big part of that (cars/transportation, communications, etc.). We simply "gather" in different ways, we define community differently. Add to that an every increasing radicalization of the idea of the individual (which SADLY has engulfed also Christianity) - and we have a whole new milieu. I'm not sure what we can - or should - do about that. And it's all happened and happening so fast....


IMO, we may have a "handle" on something our culture still holds to: the value of support. AA, weight watchers, even my fitness group - they are all based on the idea of supporting and helping each other. I think that's ONE aspect of the church - a community that embraces and supports, that teaches and corrects and holds accountable. Of course, culture increasingly rejects that this has to be "in person" (witness the "community" here!). Related, is I think my generation still embraces the idea of family. Marriage is down and divorce is high - but as an IDEAL anyway, my generation still embraces this as an ideal. This is another concept of the church - as family. In fact, it's a very ancient and biblical one (think the whole bride:Bridegroom thing, the brother/sister thing). We may have some handles.....



God forgive us.
God move us.



- Josiah

psalms 91 said:

Not so, scripture also tells us to not forsake the gathering together and many other scriptures as well as the Old Testament point to gathering together, I was merely pointing out that if you wished to do communion at home in addition then it is permissible

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Evidently some think that gathering at home or watching a video is their way of complying with the verse in Hebrews 10.

Josiah said:

IMO....


I think we're ALL (in various ways) noting how radically our culture has changed..... Technology has been a big part of that (cars/transportation, communications, etc.). We simply "gather" in different ways, we define community differently. Add to that an every increasing radicalization of the idea of the individual (which SADLY has engulfed also Christianity) - and we have a whole new milieu. I'm not sure what we can - or should - do about that. And it's all happened and happening so fast....


IMO, we may have a "handle" on something our culture still holds to: the value of support. AA, weight watchers, even my fitness group - they are all based on the idea of supporting and helping each other. I think that's ONE aspect of the church - a community that embraces and supports, that teaches and corrects and holds accountable. Of course, culture increasingly rejects that this has to be "in person" (witness the "community" here!). Related, is I think my generation still embraces the idea of family. Marriage is down and divorce is high - but as an IDEAL anyway, my generation still embraces this as an ideal. This is another concept of the church - as family. In fact, it's a very ancient and biblical one (think the whole bride:Bridegroom thing, the brother/sister thing). We may have some handles.....



God forgive us.
God move us.



.

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MoreCoffee said:

Evidently some think that gathering at home or watching a video is their way of complying with the verse in Hebrews 10.

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I wonder if that's not PART of the issue here.....

There was a day when "gather/assemble" meant PHYSICALLY, at some physical PLACE. That's how you are understanding that (me, too). Probably a small group of people (who live in a given locale and can't travel very far) in some mutually agreed upon and traditional spot. But that's not the culture in which the church now finds itself. Witness CH. Would most of the regulars here see coming here as "coming together" with other regulars? Witness our prayers and concerns or Lamm (whom none of us have physically met, most don't even know her real first name and fewer still her last name). CH is the "coming together" and in a sense, a family. That's new. It may be bad.... it may be good..... but it is what is. At least at this moment in an ever VERY RAPIDLY changing culture. I think we're all playing catch up..... all a bit bewildered..... everything seems in flux...... IMO, it's just part of the challenge the church faces right now.

psalms 91 said:

I agree that we are like family to each other for the most part but it does not and never will take the place of church and real life people, at least not for me

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Nor for me. CH is a kind of live entertainment. The people matter but the "gathering" is asynchronous. I type a post and it does not matter if I see an answer within a hour or a day. In face to face conversation it would be rude to ignore a comment from an acquaintance or a friend if you heard it.