Well, as usual, we really have a lot of things going on with our church family here. There are two things the men are having to deal with. One is getting the roof replaced on our building. That is going to take some time and working out the financing. Secondly, we were notified by ODOT last week that we have to remove our big sign located out on hwy. 51 because the regulations have changed and our sign exceeds the size limits. We have 90 days to get it done or be fined. These are just some of the things the men will have to deal with in our men’s meeting for September. Because of all this and that the first Sunday is a holiday weekend with some being out of town, the men decided to move the meeting to the following Sunday, Sept. 13th, so that they could all be there. Brethren, I really appreciate the men of this congregation and their willingness to meet, to work and try to get things done that will enable us to serve the Lord in every way possible.
Pam and I request your prayers for us and our daughter, Lacy, and her family as we will be traveling to Hobbs, NM for Lacy’s surgery.
The following article is by brother Phil Sanders and has some very interesting information for us.
IS THE CHURCH DYING?
The most recent Pew Forum survey revealed that Christianity in America is in decline, and some have suggested that Christianity is dying. The number of “nones”, those with no religious affiliation, has grown from 16.1 to 22.8 percent since 2007. The number of those who call themselves Christians in America has declined from 78.4 to 70.6 percent.
Most of this decline occurred among mainline Protestants (18.4 to 14.7 percent) and Catholics (23.9 to 20.8 percent). Evangelicals (which includes churches of Christ in this survey) declined less than one percent. The number of Christians with strong convictions has pretty much stayed the same, but many cultural Christians (people who call themselves Christians because of the culture) and nominal Christians (people who do not take their faith very seriously) are becoming “nones.”
The churches of Christ have declined in recent years. We are losing more than 8000 members and about 50 churches every year (147 congregations from 2012 to 2015). In spite of this, we still have the fourth most congregations of any religious group on “America. In actual attendance on the Lord’s Day, we rank eighth. We surpass almost everyone in the percentage of members who attend church and give.
As you can see, we have much to do to take the gospel to the lost. The world has always been worldly and deceived by false religion. We must do all we can to preach the truth in love, so that by all means, we might save some.
Phil Sanders
Edmond, OK
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
Pam and I request your prayers for us and our daughter, Lacy, and her family as we will be traveling to Hobbs, NM for Lacy’s surgery.
The following article is by brother Phil Sanders and has some very interesting information for us.
IS THE CHURCH DYING?
The most recent Pew Forum survey revealed that Christianity in America is in decline, and some have suggested that Christianity is dying. The number of “nones”, those with no religious affiliation, has grown from 16.1 to 22.8 percent since 2007. The number of those who call themselves Christians in America has declined from 78.4 to 70.6 percent.
Most of this decline occurred among mainline Protestants (18.4 to 14.7 percent) and Catholics (23.9 to 20.8 percent). Evangelicals (which includes churches of Christ in this survey) declined less than one percent. The number of Christians with strong convictions has pretty much stayed the same, but many cultural Christians (people who call themselves Christians because of the culture) and nominal Christians (people who do not take their faith very seriously) are becoming “nones.”
The churches of Christ have declined in recent years. We are losing more than 8000 members and about 50 churches every year (147 congregations from 2012 to 2015). In spite of this, we still have the fourth most congregations of any religious group on “America. In actual attendance on the Lord’s Day, we rank eighth. We surpass almost everyone in the percentage of members who attend church and give.
As you can see, we have much to do to take the gospel to the lost. The world has always been worldly and deceived by false religion. We must do all we can to preach the truth in love, so that by all means, we might save some.
Phil Sanders
Edmond, OK
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
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