Church statistics that stopped me in my tracks
Renewed interest in the Christian faith is not translating to growing churches
I am a full-on
groupie.First of all, he’s a ‘Cage Free’ Minister. He may not call himself that, but he’s a perfect example of a pastor who serves the church in innovative and traditional ways (professor, minister, statistician, Substack blogger).
Second, he uses statistics to look clearly and factually about the state of the church. Which often shows us bad news (institutional collapse is real, people really are not coming back to church).
But I find it incredibly freeing, because it also shows where and how what we believe matters, and how we can sort the ‘baby’ from the ‘bathwater’ - sharing the Gospel vs. shoring up institutional systems that no longer work.
Ryan Burge is opening the door to the future of church.
Enrollment is open for the first Substack Seminary cohort!
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In this video, Burge explains that while interest in the Christian faith may be growing (Christian music sales up 50% since 2019, Bible sales up 40%), this is not actually translating to more people going to church…
All of this puts a factual framework around the need to bring church to people.
I believe there is a renewed interest in following Jesus, and participating in Christian faith practices.
And a renewed urgency to meet that interest with something besides a traditional congregational experience of worship on Sunday, followed by lots of meetings and programs.
Even within congregations, it’s time to expand and enliven how we help our members grow closer in their relationship with God.
Beyond the institutional church, we’re finding many ways to do this (Burge is a case in point).
We don’t have to do it alone.
We can help create roadmaps and collaborations and partnerships - between and among innovative ministers. Between and among congregations - across and beyond denominations. Innovative ministers and congregational ministers supporting each other’s work. Being an innovative and a congregational minister at the same time!
There’s so much energy right now for building and shaping the Christian faith.
Enroll in Substack Seminary to be part of doing it together.
