Churches Fight Back Against Shrinking Membership
Stung by a 25 percent drop in membership churches are launching recruiting campaigns
Reader Comments
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lemyaskin rulezz
Baptist and persecution
if some early Baptist were persecuted IT WAS because they rejected important bible truth such as the Trinity.
this can quickly be checked in some of the confessions christians had rejecting some of the baptist beliefs.
but in the defence of modern baptist rejections of the trinity is hardly ever the case any more . They still reject or shall we say interpet plain biblical language with a twist when it comes to certain baptismal views
Southern Baptist is not "mainline".
The term "mainline" refers to a specific set of heritage churches whose immigrant members brought their beliefs to the United States in the late 18th to mid 19th century. The Southern Baptist Convention grew from Baptist churches planted throughout the Colonial United States by immigrants who were unable to practice their religious beliefs in their home country of England. The mainline denominations came from accepted Old World religious institutions. The Southern Baptists came from a tradition of persecution.
Eric of WA is right
United Methodist is not the largest mainline Protestant denomination. That distinction belongs to Southern Baptist, but hey, we are hurting too!
Divition in churches
Does God seperate us as methodits ,Baptists,or pentecostal. If that is true we can be proud of our Denominational Background. When god says there is no women nor men nor greek or jew in his sight why do we seperate. My opinion which is out of our experiance in India is that any ministry which does not preach denomination is really flourishing. Un officially we are 15% people who has accepted the Lord in India. No one particular church or Ministry can claim their reward in this growth. It is the Hand of God who used every church and ministries. Once again as Jesus loved everybody we should love all and when we preach with the same attitude and spirit of Jesus . We are bound to be successful. THis is the secret
Wow - Just plain sad
The effort to "rethink church" is a misnomer, it is more of hey everyone out there look at us, we can change to your level so you will join.
It seems like the end is near. My membership to the UM church is on the verge of ripping, while I look for a non-denominational church. Praise be to Lord Jesus Christ. When will we get over following a religion, and look to Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
Preach the Word people and let GOD TRANSFORM HEARTS - one plants, one sows, God reaps. Get back to Matthew 22:34-40. Why can't we get that in our heads. All of that is done in a very humble and loving manner.
May we drop to our knees and truly seek God, not a marketing department. The only PR God needs are abiding, devoted Christ followers. Amen
United Methodist Church
I agree with much of what you wrote in your article and appreciate your insights, but your comment that the United Methodist Church is still the largest mainline Protestant denomination is misleading. The number of members is considerably lower than the Southern Baptist Convention. It may be a matter of semantics, but someone without a knowledge of the facts would assume there are more United Methodists in the U.S. than Southern Baptists, which I'm sure you know is not correct. The way you expressed it, "still the largest," suggests that this point is in question. Well, it is. You may have a bias towards Methodists, especially since the competition is LifeWay products, but please don't mislead your readers.
Good to see some things never change!
Or is it sad to sse some things never change? Anyway, if anyone wants to read liberal koolaide, just read Alockslee's comment. It is full of it!
The Problem is plain to see and the solution Obvious
People have awoken and are now very aware of the fact that they have been lied too and not just from the Methodists, but especially from the Fascist Fundamentalist and Evil Evangelicals who cause mothers to kill their children, others to kill kill doctors for legal abortion and still others to engage in hurting others for their sexual preference.
The time is over for churches who insist upon controlling the lives of attendees and to brainwash them into believing stories that are not true and never were. To force people to accept absolutely false information and through mental conditioning and scare tactics make them think they have to become a mindless unthinking robotic member of some fascist organization pretending to be Christian.
WAKE UP and kick this and the other pretenders to the curb so that the fascism present in the churches is removed and it is returned to what it was intended to be. Don't tolerate hate through religion, and don't fall for ads that promise soemthing they don't deliver and never will.
consultant
john wesley would roll over --spending 20 million for a
survey. could be better spent for humanity, than changes
that are obvious to anyone with their eyes open.
old men with man made rules do not make a growing church.
stick with the bible and its teachings.
