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The growing trend of church at home
November 10, 2007
There is a quiet movement occurring where Christians pursue their faith outside the congregational setting.
To regular church-goers, these people may seem backslidden or lazy, but this isn’t always the case.
George Barna is a pollster studying religious belief and behavior in Americans. In Barna’s book, Revolution, he describes a growing number of devout Christians, known as Revolutionaries, who are reshaping spiritual life by embracing a post-congregational experience.
The number of people adopting these alternative forms of worship, some in house churches, is growing rapidly. According to Barna, as of 2003, there are about 1,600 home churches on the internet. There could be as many as 30,000 home churches in the USA.
The reasons people leave the congregational setting are varied. Some lose confidence in church leaders, citing scandals and theft. Others feel like spectators rather than participants. The website lettersfromleavers.com invites readers to describe their reasons for leaving church.
We talked with a St. Charles County mother recently who described her reasons for leaving the traditional church to conduct home church instead. Some of the reasons she cited for leaving were:
· Too many church meetings. “They took me away from my family time,” she said. She also mentioned how it seemed the church needed much attention just to keep it running. · Fractioning of families. She described separate activities for each family member. The kids were pulled one way, wives another way and the men separate even still. “It seemed like the church preaches the importance of family, but it’s just one more organization in our lives tearing us apart.” · Family members not agreeing on a church. It’s not that this family hasn’t looked for a home church. Just when one family member would feel at home at a certain one, other family members would state their preference for a difference one.
Another reason people leave the traditional setting are the way children are separated from the congregation. One church-leaver claimed that Jesus probably didn’t shoo the children away before giving the Sermon on the Mount.
A quote from this USA Today article states, “Too many youth groups are holding tanks with pizza. There’s no life transformation taking place.”
The home church movement is something to watch. Will it grow or fizzle?
What are your opinions? Tell us in the forums or e-mail us at contact@sccworlds.com and we’ll post your response.
Copyright 2007 Neighbors About Town
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A statue outside a church in St. Charles County. |
