Ministries:
Adult | Teens | Children

Pastor's Pen's:
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

Sermon Series:
Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2007

Grace Church of Burlington April 1, 2007 "We ask for peanuts when we should be asking for continents and claiming the world for Christ."                                                                                              Dawson Trotman Life in America has changed greatly over the last decade with massive changes in technology, global politics, lifestyle choices and family dynamics. But one constant has been the proportion of adults in the population who are unchurched. During that period there have been noteworthy shifts in religious behavior, but the percentage of adults who have steered clear of churches for at least the past six months has remained stable since the mid-nineties.              A new survey released by The Barna Group reveals that one out of every three adults (33%) is classified as unchurched - meaning they have not attended a religious service of any type during the past six months. While that figure is considerably higher than the one out of five who qualified as unchurched in the early nineties, it is statistically unchanged since 36% were recorded as having avoided religious services in the company’s 1994 study.             Some population segments are notorious church avoiders. For instance, 47% of political liberals are unchurched, more than twice the percentage found among political conservatives (19%). African Americans were less likely to be unchurched (25%) than were whites (32%) or Hispanics (34%). Asians, however, doubled the national average: 63% were unchurched! Single adults continued a historic pattern of being more likely than married adults to stay away from religious services (37% versus 29%, respectively). Residents of the West (42%) and Northeast (39%) remain the most church resistant, while those in the South are the least prone to avoid religious services (26%). Sexual orientation is closely related to church status, too: while about one-third of heterosexuals are unchurched (31%), half of the homosexual public (49%) met the unchurched criteria.             Looking at the distinctions within the “Christian” population, evangelicals are the most reliable church goers: just 1% is unchurched. Born again Christians who are not evangelical also had a pretty formidable attendance record: only one out of every six (16%) were unchurched. However, adults who call themselves Christian but are not born again were by far the least reliable church goers within the Christian realm (32% were unchurched).             Catholics have traditionally been more consistent in church attendance than Protestants. However, in the mid-nineties that trend reversed course, and Catholics have been more likely than Protestants to earn the unchurched label throughout the past decade. Currently the gap between the two segments of Christians is five percentage points, with a higher percentage among Catholics (25% are unchurched) than Protestants (20% are unchurched).             When these statistics are projected across the aggregate adult population, the numbers are staggering. An estimated 73 million adults in America are presently unchurched. When teens and children are added, the total swells to roughly 100 million Americans. To put that figure in context, if the unchurched population of the United States were a nation of its own, that group would be the eleventh most populated nation on earth (trailing only China, India, the churched portion of the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan and Mexico).             The bottom line is that America is a mission field. Your neighborhood, where you work, the families of the kids that play ball with your kid are frequently unchurched. It’s your mission field and it’s mine.             So what are we going to do about it? We’re coming into the Easter Season, if there is ever a time when a lost person will attend church, it’s at Easter. So invite someone to be your special guest at Easter! Then, have a regular prayer list of lost people that are in your circle of influence that you pray for. You might even pray for them as a family. Ask the Lord for opportunities to share the Gospel with them. Invite them to church and take them for either brunch or lunch afterwards (depending on what service you go to). A worship service is a great ice breaker. Ask them candidly what they thought. Seek to answer questions that they might have.             While America is quickly becoming an unchurched nation, one statistic has never changed. More people come to Christ because of the influence and invitation of a friend than any other way. It’s been that way for 2000 years. That’s why Jesus gave us the Great Commission. The only reason that we do not see lost people come to Christ is that we are not obeying the Lord and being His witnesses. It’s really that simple.            Be honest. When was the last time that you shared the Gospel? Prayed for a lost person? Invited someone who didn’t know the Lord to church?  Folks, let’s ask the Lord to renew our passion for the lost and to give us a great harvest for His glory!!