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Aquaria

(1,076 posts)
57. Megachurches don't kill little churches
Sat Apr 4, 2020, 07:49 PM
Apr 2020

Megachurches are a direct result of the death of little churches. It's a consolidation of dying churches--not new churches to draw in members.

Think of it this way:

I attended a school district that was a consolidation of two different districts. At one time, each district had a couple of thousand students of their own. Then a major industry left the area, the jobs dried up, people moved out to places with jobs, and as they moved out, the student population dwindled. Eventually, the two districts were down to only a couple of hundred students, between them. So they consolidated, to pool their resources. Even gave themselves a fancy new name to hide that the old districts were essentially dead and now a seemingly bigger new district. Oh, they kept the old elementary schools, while all of the junior high kids went to one campus and the high school kids attended another. But even that wasn't enough. When the decline is on, it doesn't let up. That's why their numbers dwindled to such an extent that the junior high campus was closed entirely. There just weren't enough kids to justify keeping both campuses open anymore.

What did NOT happen was the community coming in and saying, let's build this new district because we have so many people for it. It was the dying schools banding together as one to keep going. Same thing with these megachurches. They're a consolidation of failing smaller churches. Not a new church.

This is the dark secret of xianity in the US these days: Their internal numbers are horrifying, and they know it. When pollsters ask not "Did you go to church?" (halo effect material) but instead, "What did you do last weekend?" weekly church attendance plummets from 40% to the mid-teens, save for Easter and Christmas, which sees a slight uptick. This mid-teens number is equivalent to European numbers. Americans simply have better things to do on a Sunday morning than waste time getting yelled at or talking to air.

And the bad news keeps on coming: Congregations are not only shedding members, but also getting ever older. And fast. Catholic, Mainstream Protestant, Evangelical--all of them have an average congregant age of mid-50s these days. This is because young people have left, and they're not coming back. And if they're not in church, they're not raising their own kids in church--which means no new members for the future.

It's only a matter of time now for the collapse to come. It probably won't happen during my lifetime, but it is coming.

jesus said take care of your fellow humans, many of his followers dont care if they kill everyone nt msongs Apr 2020 #1
He only meant for that to apply to people who agreed with him. Aquaria Apr 2020 #55
I ask such people if they will jump off a ten story building lapfog_1 Apr 2020 #2
The disconnect is utterly astounding, isn't it? A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #3
They want the end times to come so badly.... diverdownjt Apr 2020 #5
Meat Loaf.. safeinOhio Apr 2020 #10
'It was long ago, and it was far away...and it was so much better than it is today' House of Roberts Apr 2020 #16
Love it... safeinOhio Apr 2020 #18
I think... Mike Nelson Apr 2020 #4
We will never know the true global toll..... A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #6
I know someone... Mike Nelson Apr 2020 #8
i think you're right. barbtries Apr 2020 #9
This! BlueMTexpat Apr 2020 #13
Exactly. The usual victims. Midnight Writer Apr 2020 #54
... Mike Niendorff Apr 2020 #7
They'll spread the disease and kill plenty of us! FiveGoodMen Apr 2020 #61
I watched a video of no social distancing mnhtnbb Apr 2020 #11
I just wish people with these attitudes/beliefs would understand that logosoco Apr 2020 #12
I am currently having the first COPD attack in 2 years and I wear a mask when I am near others A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #17
You are exactly the person I was talking about yesterday logosoco Apr 2020 #21
Thanks. A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #24
Darwinism and God's Will separates the chosen from the sinners bucolic_frolic Apr 2020 #14
Oh, I'm not trying to change any minds regarding the almighty.... A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #19
These are the same people who deny climate change rainin Apr 2020 #15
Here's a little fly in their holy ointment..... KY_EnviroGuy Apr 2020 #20
Not if Kenneth Copeland has anything to say about it!! A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #22
Lordy, what a racket. KY_EnviroGuy Apr 2020 #29
Yup. The guy's a piece of work, that's for sure. A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #35
It breaks my heart to have watched the change..... KY_EnviroGuy Apr 2020 #42
Really? Aquaria Apr 2020 #56
It's incredible that people can't see how ... dchill Apr 2020 #38
Tithing? Chainfire Apr 2020 #26
Mega churches also kill little churches underpants Apr 2020 #30
Yes, please see Post 42, above. The rest of the story is.... KY_EnviroGuy Apr 2020 #43
I grew up in the same town in Ohio underpants Apr 2020 #45
A single Wal-Mart and Sam's Club complex Wednesdays Apr 2020 #46
That is so true.. mountain grammy Apr 2020 #49
The average church membership is about 60 people underpants Apr 2020 #50
Exactly! mountain grammy Apr 2020 #59
Megachurches don't kill little churches Aquaria Apr 2020 #57
At this point there is nothing that can be done about them. The sane just Squinch Apr 2020 #23
I have Louisiana relatives who go to an Apostolic Pentecostal church. Croney Apr 2020 #25
Have these people never heard of "Virtual" meetings? polmaven Apr 2020 #27
Collection plate underpants Apr 2020 #31
No..We can't, polmaven Apr 2020 #37
A great many of them accept credit cards Wednesdays Apr 2020 #48
That's true underpants Apr 2020 #51
The one I feel sorry for is Ken Hamm. 3Hotdogs Apr 2020 #28
That gave me a chuckle. underpants Apr 2020 #32
I see what you and Obama did there. dchill Apr 2020 #33
Yes, who's going to patch the roof on the ark? KY_EnviroGuy Apr 2020 #39
"...and religion is making it worse." dchill Apr 2020 #34
Indeed. A HERETIC I AM Apr 2020 #36
Plagues are in the bible The Blue Flower Apr 2020 #40
I don't waste my breath on those guys captain queeg Apr 2020 #41
The arrogance, self-aggrandizement and conceit of Christians is staggering. stopbush Apr 2020 #44
Religion pretty much makes everything worse.. mountain grammy Apr 2020 #47
The people who do the good deeds Aquaria Apr 2020 #58
Yes, for sure.. that's a great quote! mountain grammy Apr 2020 #60
At least 70 people infected with coronavirus linked to a single church in California DBoon Apr 2020 #52
Just Faux pas Apr 2020 #53
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