7 Trends Affecting You

Nearly every observer of America’s religious scene agrees: the past three or four decades have brought radical changes. What has been the most significant change?

Radical changes

1. A religious reawakening with an emphasis on personal relationships with Jesus Christ?
2. The replacement of the neighborhood congregation by the regional church?
3. The expanded role of women in the church?
4. The evolution from the 1960s’ emphasis on racial integration to the 1990s’ affirmation of ethnic separation?
5. The new era of contemporary Christian music?
6. The unprecedented increase in the number of large congregations that project high expectations of anyone seeking to become a full member?
7. The change in emphasis from converting non-believers to transforming believers into disciples?
8. The impact of television on worship and preaching?
9. The gradual reduction in the number of Christians who identify themselves as “Protestants”?
10. The erosion of denominational affiliation as a central component in a congregation’s identity?
11. The recent rapid increase in the number of congregations with multiple meeting places?
12. The growing number of congregations that challenge the laity to do ministry while the paid staff “runs the church”?
13. The obsolescence of the expectation that each new generation of churchgoers will be theologically more liberal than their parents, by the arrival of the post-1955 generations, who tend to be more conservative than their parents?
14. The creation of learning communities to replace the traditional Sunday school?
15. The unprecedented number of congregations owning from 20 to 400 acres to house their worshiping community?
16. The increased competition among churches to reach potential future members?
17. The exodus of the mainline Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic church from the larger central cities?
18. The impact of the societal-wide demand for excellence, including in preaching, meeting places, children’s ministries, and training experiences for volunteers?
19. The rapid increase in the number of very large nondenominational congregations?
20. The decentralization of theological education?

Churchgoers who were satisfied with an average level of quality began to disappear.

It is impossible to secure agreement on which of these has turned out to be the most significant single change. But there is widespread agreement that these and other changes have complicated the role and broadened the responsibilities of the parish pastor. Today’s pastor is expected to be a highly skilled leader, an excellent communicator, a superb organizer, a master of planned change initiated from within an organization, a persuasive evangelist, a loving shepherd, a trained counselor, a model of the deeply committed Christian, an inspiring teacher, and an expert in motivating volunteers.

How 1950s churches worked

In the 1950s it was assumed that a call from God and a seminary degree were adequate preparation for a person to serve as an effective parish pastor. Most other resources required by the typical congregation in the 1950s were supplied by denominations. These included hymnals, printed resources for the Sunday school, specialists who could assist congregations in capital-funds campaigns, a camp for summer use by children and youth, assistance in ministerial placement, resources for the annual stewardship program, a loan library of 16mm films, an annual event for pastors, plus resources for the women’s organization, the men’s fellowship, the youth group, and the confirmation class.

That system worked in the 1950s, as congregations focused on reaching and serving the generations born in the 1880-1940 era. Those generations had been taught by the Great Depression and World War II to:

1. trust institutions
2. respect men in positions of authority
3. be satisfied when survival goals were achieved
4. feel comfortable when offered the two choices of “Take it” or “Leave it”
5. trust brand names as superior to “offbrand” items
6. assume academic credentials guaranteed competence
7. view a vacant parking space as a blessing from God rather than an entitlement
8. evaluate the telephone, electric lights, indoor plumbing, the typewriter, and the radio as luxuries rather than as ordinary necessities
9. be loyal to one’s country, church, family, and employer.

Unfortunately, most of the churchgoers born in that 1880-1940 era today can be found in retirement centers, nursing homes, cemeteries, and small congregations with an aging and shrinking membership.

7 big trends

In summary, seven major trends converged during the last third of the twentieth century:

1. Churchgoers who were satisfied with an average level of quality and a limited range of choices in congregational life began to disappear.
2. The successor generations came with demands for excellence and the expectation they would be offered attractive choices in worship, learning, personal and spiritual growth, fellowship, and involvement in ministry.
3. The level of competition among congregations to attract and retain new members increased, because of:
   1. the erosion of inherited institutional loyalties
   2. the greater geographical separation of the place of residence from the place of worship
   3. the rapid increase in the number of very large congregations with an abundance of discretionary resources
   4. the freedom of younger generations to switch churches.
4. The ecumenical movement of the 1960s, which stressed what we have in common rather than what separates us, has been an extraordinary success. This has made it relatively easy for those on a personal spiritual journey to switch from one religious tradition to another.
5. A disproportionately large number of the churchgoers born after World War II prefer the very large churches that can respond to their demands for quality, choices, and specialized ministries. One result: half of all Protestant churchgoers can be found in 18 percent of the churches. Another result is the replacement of the neighborhood church by the regional megachurch. A third is the rising level of complexity that accompanies this increase in size. A fourth is the growing demand for a high level of competence in the professional staff.
6. Congregations changed their response to the call to mission. As recently as the 1960s, the dominant pattern was to send money to hire someone to be engaged in missions on our behalf. Today, the response is to enlist, train, place, and support members who personally do mission, both in this community and in other parts of the world.
7. The combination of competing agendas and limited resources has made it difficult or impossible for many denominational systems to respond creatively and effectively to the pleas for help from congregational leaders.The good news is that the calls for help are being answered by a huge variety of respondents, most of whom did not exist as recently as the 1950s—parachurch organizations, individual entrepreneurs, parish consultants, musicians, fund-raisers, magazines, and so on. Another hopeful sign is that some denominations’ regional judicatories have redefined their primary role to helping congregations design a customized strategy and finding resources to implement that strategy.

In search of excellence

What should we make of these trends?

The increasing demand for excellence from today’s churchgoers, and the increasing competition among churches, presents challenges to congregational leaders. But they also offer benefits.

The number-one benefit of these seven trends is that they are forcing pastors to think with greater intentionality. Increasingly, church leaders are asking, “What should our parish uniquely be doing?” and “Why are we doing ministry in the way we’re doing it?”

The second benefit is a qualitative one: congregations are increasingly willing to accept that they are not called to do everything. If today’s competition forces people to say, “No, our church doesn’t do that,” that’s great.

Lyle E. Schaller, parish consultant for the Yokefellow Institute, lives in Naperville, Illinois. He is a contributing editor for Leadership.

1998 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.