4 in 10 Americans are 'unchurched'; dramatic change needed

(Photo: Robert Walker)

Four in 10 Americans are unchurched. At 43 per cent, the number is significantly higher than the 30 per cent of Americans who did not go to church in 1990, according to data published in the book Churchless by George Barna and David Kinnaman.

In a post, American Family Association Senior Executive Vice President Buddy Smith said that the declining trend could continue if the church does not do something dramatic to address the problem.

"So, the current report card points to failure and will likely continue unless something dramatic happens. Christians today are not only losing ground to Jesus' command to make disciples but the growing population of unchurched refuse to embrace our worldview and are growing more antagonistic to our beliefs about Jesus Christ. The friction is heating up between these opposite and competing worldviews by an antagonistic, progressive and emboldened effort from popular culture to evangelise the church," he said.

Smith said that in order for the unchurched to reconnect with God, Christians should not just be limited to performing good deeds but also welcome God into their lives. He said that the Holy Spirit should be alive in each and every one of the faithful in order for there to be revival in the Church.

"Many failures of the modern Church are rooted in all the wonderful things we are doing for God without first doing what Jesus said in these verses. Without prayer and worship we are without the Holy Spirit's power to accomplish the Holy Spirit's work."

"God breathed his breath of life into His people and the church was born. God wants to do that again for His church today. He wants His church revived; fully alive with Holy Spirit power like He gave the early church to boldly proclaim the gospel of His love," he continued.