Podcast Episode #060

If you were attending a church worship service in 1955 and then returned to the same church in 1975, the changes would be noticeable but not dramatic. Churches were slow to change over that 20-year period. If you, however, attended a church worship service in 2000 and then returned to that same church in 2010, there is a high likelihood you would see dramatic changes in just ten years.

So today, Jonathan and I discuss some of those changes that are happening in worship services. The related post for this topic was one that caused a lot of discussion and at least a little controversy. In this week's episode, we share some of the reaction to the original post, dive deeper into some of the changes more, and I explain why I hate neckties.

* Choirs are disappearing. From 1998 to 2007, the percentage of churches with choirs decreased from 54% to 44%. If that pace holds to this year, the percentage of churches with choirs is only 37%.

* Dress is more casual. In many churches, a man wearing a tie in a worship service is now among the few rather than the majority. While the degree of casual dress is contextual, the trend is crossing all geographic and demographic lines.

* Screens are pervasive. Some of you remember the days when putting a projection screen in a worship center was considered a sacrilege. Now most churches have screens. And if they have hymnals, the hymnals are largely ignored and the congregants follow along on the screens.

* Preaching is longer. I will soon be in the process of gathering this data to make certain the objective research confirms the anecdotal information.

* “Multi” is normative. Most congregants twenty years ago attended a Sunday morning worship service where no other Sunday morning alternatives were available. Today, most congregants attend a service that is part of numerous alternatives: multi-services; multi-campuses; multi-sites; and multi-venues.

* Attendees are more diverse. The Duke study noted the trend of the decrease in the number of all-white congregations.

* Conflict is not increasing. In a recent post, I noted the decreasing frequency of worship wars. The Duke study noted that overall church conflict has not increased over a 20-year period.

* More worship attendees are attending larger churches. Churches with an attendance of 400 and up now account for 90% of all worship attendees. Inversely, those churches with an attendance of under 400 only account for 10% of worship attendees.

* Sunday evening services are disappearing. This issue has stirred quite a bit of discussion the past few years.

Episode Sponsor

This week's podcast is brought to you by the Autopsy of a Deceased Church. Whether your church is vibrant or dying, Autopsy of a Deceased Church will walk you through the radical paths necessary to keep your church alive to the glory of God and advancement of Christ's Kingdom!. Find out more at thomrainer.com/autopsy.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com.

Resources

* Autopsy of a Deceased Church