IN THIS ISSUE:
1. REASON FOR THIS NEWSLETTER
2. CHURCH GROWTH
3. LEADERSHIP
4. CHURCH INTERNET WEB SITE
5. BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
6. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

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1. REASON FOR THIS NEWSLETTER
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The next issue of this newsletter will feature "Where Have All The Subscribers Gone?" Religious publications, like general published magazines and newspapers, have been on a general decline since the mid 1960s. One possibility is people are reading less and watching TV more. Another possibility is data overload – just too much being published. Still another is the need of the readers are not being met. In the 1990's brotherhood magazines have taken a sharp decline; and at the same time have higher publication and distribution costs; and of course, higher subscription rates to cover expenses.

However, the decline rate has not changed as a result of the Internet, although some publications are published on-line as well as in print and distributed by mail. Older people are more likely to read published materials, while young people use the Internet, videos, CDs, and DVDs. What will happen as the older people die and with them the subscriptions?

Bailey McBride, editor of "The Christian Chronicle," wrote an article entitled "Reviewing our report card: results of Chronicle survey" with an analysis of who was reading the Chronicle, and the results of this survey may be responsible for a new magazine format. Read the article at http://www.oc.edu/ccarchives/0003/p23_insight.htm

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2. CHURCH GROWTH
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"The Christian Chronicle" (March 2000) published a survey of a sampling of Chronicle readers. What troubled me was only 5.4% of the readers were under 34 years of age and 54.4% were over 54 years of age. The other 39.7% of Chronicle readers were between 34 and 54 years old. What would happen to subscriptions in another 20 years without recruiting the young as readers? The survey concluded that Chronicle "readers are fairly typical of the national population in regard to newspaper reading. People under 35 usually rely almost exclusively on television and the Internet for news. Those from older generations continue the habit of reading the paper even if they regularly consult newspapers and news magazines. Readers of all ages are coming to rely on the Internet for information, services and products. The survey shows that 60% of the respondents use the Internet and of that number most have access at home." The Christian Chronicle can be read on line at http://christianchronicle.org/ and is establishing a past issues archive.

The Barna Research Group's survey results show that the average age of church member exceed the average age of the community by more than 5 - 7 years. With this age average, the church, more than likely, will plateau or decline. Barna Research Group states the median age of churched people is 42 and unchurched is 35 and that American churches are in decline. Chronicle readers are even older than the average churched person. Are restoration publications declining because they are not attracting enough younger readers to replace those passing away? Is the age of the Chronicle reader representative of brotherhood publications?

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3. LEADERSHIP
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The "unchurch" vary greatly in what they expect. Over the next few issues, four different categories will be presented. First, and the hardest to evangelize is the non-religious. Second, the unchurched attenders, who attends services, but is not baptized. Third, the unchurched member, who has been baptized and has reverted to the former ways. Fourth, the uninvolved in church activities, but is religious.

Looking at this first group, the non-religious are predominately male by six to four over females. As youth they rebelled against religious training and dropped out of church at a younger age. They are more likely to be single, have a higher divorce rate, and fewer children. They are more likely at some time to have "doubted most religious teachings." They will be more inclined to support social causes.

The non-religious are almost unanimous in their rejection of the teaching that salvation is available only through Christ. Eleven percent of this group accept Jesus as the son of God or God. Only 5% of the group believe in a divine judgment, 41% deny life after death, and 47% that God had a hand in writing the Bible. Also, 53% believe the church has lost a clear sense of the real spiritual nature of religion. This last point is about the average of all "unchurched."

The non-religious reject authority of institutions for determining people's beliefs and values. They believe one should form their own religious beliefs independent of any church. The final authority for religion and of values rests in the individual's conscience.

One bright spot for evangelizing the non-religious is through their children. 81% of the non-religious would like their children to have a religious education. Thus, they will enroll their children in Bible School, so the children will know what religion is all about. The mother is usually the one transporting the children to church activities. The father is seldom seen, just as was his father. (Hoge, Johnson, and Luidens, "Vanishing Broundries" pp 74 - 93, 154 - 162)

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4. CHURCH INTERNET WEB SITE
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Only a few years ago (a virtual lifetime), the Internet was dominated by a white, male and educated user with a vanity personal home page. However, in a recent survey by Pew Internet & American Life Project (USA Today 5-11-00, p 11D), this has changed. At the beginning of the millennium men barely lead women as users. Fifty-one percent of men now use the Internet compared with 46% of the women. During the last six months women have closed the gap by a few more percentage points.

Racially/ethnicity, 50% of the white population use the Internet. The Hispanics are at 46% and only 35% Blacks use the Internet. This is a big jump in both Hispanics and Blacks in the last four years.

By age, the Internet is still for the young and young at heart. For those age 18 - 29, 66% use the Internet, age group 30 - 59 is 58%. As far as the older groups, those 59 - 64, 41% use the Internet; and those over 64 only 13% use the Internet for e-mail, surfing, getting news. Church web sites need to be built for those families in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. This is the age group of growing churches.

Women are more likely to seek religious and/or spiritual information on the Internet. Twenty-three percent of women look for religious information compared to 19% for men. However, most religious web sites are constructed by men for men and the religious specialist. While many Christian children web sites are being established, few exist focused on and for the Christian woman

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5. BOOK RECOMMENDATION
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Carl F. George's "Prepare Your Church for the Future"(1991) starts out by reviewing the last 100 years and assessing what the future will be for most congregations.

George discusses the biblical principle of leadership and how group dynamics works from small churches and small groups, and how the organization changes as the church grows. At a certain size the minister becomes more of a rancher with hired foreman than a shepherd over a flock. Two excellent chapters -- eight and nine discuss doing away with malnourishment with warning signs from members and how to train leaders for their duties.

"Prepare Your Church for the Future" can be bought from Barnes and Noble with a 20% discount for $8.79 (paperback) plus shipping and handling at http://webminister.com/barnes/book5019.htm .

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6. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
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Visit http://webminister.com and its links.

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Let me know if you want to "unsubscribe."

In His Service,