Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping Over

60• Authors/Coaches: Eddie Hammett & Randy

Pierce – Co-authors Making Shifts Without Making Waves

• www.thecolumbiapartnership.org • www.soulful-leadership.com • www.transformingsolutions.org• www.thespiritualbandit.com

Resources by Eddie HammettResources by Eddie HammettOrder at www.amazon.com or Order at www.amazon.com or

www.transformingsolutions.org www.transformingsolutions.org

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

3 Challenges faced by the American Church, pg 57

• After 40 years of life most churches decline in attendance by 2% a year. 80% of church attendance is now found in congregations over 40.

• Slightly more than 1% of all churches close each year. (about 4,000 churches)

• Healthy new churches typically grow at a rate of 10%/year for their first 4 years.

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

“Unchurched American turned off by church – open to Christians”

• 64% surveyed think ‘the Christian religion is a relevant and viable religion for today. 79% indicated they think Christianity is’more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people.”

• 78% said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to talk about their Christian beliefs. # increased to 89% among 18-29 year olds. www.lifewayresearch.com – 3/08

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Getting to Know the UnchurchedOutreach Magazine Mar.April, 2008,

• 86% believe “I can have a good relationship with God without being involved in church”

• 32% would listen to an inspirational person if seeking inspirational guidance

• 27% would read a book• 17% would go to church• 4% would watch an inspirational movie• 17% were uncertain

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Getting to Know New ChristianOutreach Magazine Mar.April 2008

• 59% came to faith through family or friends• Age of New Christians:– 47% baby boomers– 40% Gen-X– 17% Seniors/Builders64% came to faith as a result of a conversation“New Christians Study” by M. Anthony and Gary

McIntosh, Talbot School of Theology, pg. 59

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

New Generation Is Skeptical

• 16-29 yr. olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than previous generations

• Only 3% of 16-29 yr. olds non believers express favorable views of evangelicals

• 87% believer evangelicals are too judgmental

• 78% believe they are old fashion

• From unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why it matters by David Kinnaman of Barna.org 07

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Church Update - 2007

• Between ’65 and ’01 between 2/3 and 75% of American churches started before 1960 stalled in outreach and growth.

• During the same period Mormans and Jehovah’s Witnesses grew rapidly – from 1.79 million to 5.1 million.

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Marriage in USA

• Married couples with children now occupy fewer than 1 in every 4 households

• As cohabitation and out-of-wedlock births increase among the broader population, social scientist predict that marriage with children will continue its retreat

• “Fewer are Married with Children” by Blaine Harden, Washington Post, March 4, 2007

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Single Adults and the Church?

• 2000 census shows the foreign born population in NC increased 5.3%

• 50.6% of our NC adult population are single• Singles make up 42% of the workforce in US;

40% of homebuyers; 35% of voters and one of the most potent consumer groups on record.” Business Week Magazine

• By 2010 nearly 30% of all homes will be inhabited by singles.

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Singles and the church?

• “Nationally only 13% of all churches report offering single adult specific activities

• What singles are in your church and/or community?

• What are you doing to reach them?• Biblical Recorder, Norman Jameson editorial, Jan. 19, 2008

www.biblicalrecorder.org

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Church Update - 2007Church Update - 2007

• 1 out of every three Americans are unchurched• 37% of Singles stay away from church• 29% of married adults stay away• 68% of house church attenders were satisfied• Most 20 somethings disengage from church• House church mov’t growing significantly• www.barna.org

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

State of the Church Today• • Many Christians have left congregations and formed

house churches, small groups meeting in one another’s homes.

• • Only three out of ten adults in the U.S. in their twenties (31 percent) attend church in a typical week, compared to four out of ten of those in their thirties (42 percent) and nearly half of all adults age forty and older (49%).

• • Eight million adults today who were active churchgoers as teenagers will no longer be active in a church by their thirtieth birthday.

• • Only three out of ten adults in their twenties donated to a church in the past year, which is half the proportion of older adults (30 percent to 61 percent).

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Barna Research “New Statistics on Church Attendance and Avoidance” March3, 2008 –

www.barna.org

• popular measures such as the percentage of people who are "unchurched" - based on attendance at a conventional church service - are out of date. Various new forms of faith community and experience, such as house churches, marketplace ministries and cyberchurches, must be figured into the mix - and make calculating the percentage of Americans who can be counted as "unchurched" more complicated.

• New Ways of Measuring church attendance include:

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

New Ways of Measuring Church Attendance – Barna.org

• Unattached – 1 out of every 4 adults• Intermittents – essentially under-churched. 1

out of every 7 adults• Homebodies – about 3%• Blenders – house church and trad. Church 3%

of adult pop.• Conventionals – 1 of every 3 adults

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Trends in the ChurchWhat Can You Expect in Next 3 to 7 Years in Your Church

Denominations are not an issueThe term home church has no relevanceCell churches are changingPeople are involved in the church without attending each

SundayHigh spirituality and low organized religion mark futuring

church congregationsWorship service days and times varyWorship structures are changingWorship styles are changingEvangelism takes place in both seek-sensitive as well as

more blatant formsRevival comes in different formsThe church develops rather than trainsEducation for the church is moving from teaching to

learningLeadership teams replace single leaders

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Trends in the Church Decisions are made by consensusChurch governments are changingThe church is being forced to rethink sexualityThe demand for excellence increasesChurch leaders are being held to stricter requirementsImmigrants seek a vision and purpose driven churchDiscipline in the church is expected and implementedRelevancy is in demandImmigrants stress effectiveness and measurable benchmarksFamily time is a premium considerationPastoral care has higher demandsFuture churches recognize and respond to single-parent

homesThe number of younger retirees continues to growFrom: Futuring: Leading Your Church into Tomorrow by S. Chands and C. Murphy, Baker, 2002

  

Prepared by Eddie Hammett

Resources to Help in the JourneyResources to Help in the Journeywww.transformingsolutions.org

& www.thecolumbiapartnership.org

Prepared by Eddie Hammett