Just Some Statistics- Take It or Leave It

(I'm sorry for the extended absence again, but I took a quick trip down to GA with my family to catch the ending of a camp meeting and visit my daughter's new home and general community after her pending marriage in October; we also spent some time with the groom's family and visited his church while we were there. I also enjoyed catching his radio program live Sunday morning while getting ready for church.)

There is some reason for optimism in this of course, but there is grounds for conviction as well. Our children will follow our path, but if we don’t walk straight chances are they will stumble off the path too.

Dr. Roberson used to quote Dr. William Russell Owen who claimed of the present day church members:

5% do not exist,
10% cannot be found,
20% never pray,
25% never attend the services,
30% never read the Bible,
40% never give,
50% never attend Sunday night services,
60% never give to missions,
75% never accept any responsible position,
85% never go to prayer meeting,
90% never practice family worship, and
95% never win a soul to Christ.

To that let me add 85% of your congregations are probably lost people who have made Jesus their religion. Finney, Moody, Sunday, all the big Evangelists of the 19th and 20th century estimated that 75%-90% (depending on who you quote) of the members in good gospel preaching churches were lost. The fields are white onto harvest already, if you are looking for lost people to win to Christ they are in your congregations. That’s why your messages go in one ear and out the other, and they never budge when the invitation is given. They are goats.

These days we need to start in Genesis and reaffirm the creation and the Creator, Jesus, we have to substantiate the Word of God, the blood atonement, etc. People have been unprepared to receive the gospel, we are not the Christianized nation we once were. Ephesians 1:13 says, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” We have people in America now that are gospel illiterate, a quarter of a billion have never heard the gospel. Don’t believe it, go out into a random three block area and know on every door and ask this question, “Do you know what the Bible says about how a person can go to heaven?” Count the number of correct answers. What an even scarier dose of reality, do it with your church members.

(This post is from a current church planting missionary sent to an email list within the last month that generated some good discussion. I posted it for your information to give you something to think about when you step back and take a hard look at today's American church. I do not agree with 100% of his post, but it is good food for thought. Remember - you have a delete key if it's something you would like to disagree with quickly; simply toss it like you would junk mail!!! )