The Presbyterian Center, a building belonging to Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Louisville, Kentucky. | PCUSA
Posted on 05/02/2023 10:29:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Presbyterian Center, a building belonging to Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Louisville, Kentucky. | PCUSA
Presbyterian Church (USA) lost more than 100 congregations and over 53,000 members in 2022, reflecting the yearslong trend of decline for the mainline Protestant denomination.
The PCUSA Office of the General Assembly released its annual statistics for 2022 this week, which found that the denomination dropped from having approximately 1.193 million members to approximately 1.140 million members.
Additionally, PCUSA saw the number of member congregations decline from 8,813 in 2021 to 8,705, as well as their number of ministers drop from 18,458 in 2021 to 18,173.
Its membership is now around 160,000 lower than the approximately 1.302 million reported in 2019, and less than half the approximately 2.5 million members reported in 2000.
The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the PCUSA General Assembly, said in a statement released Monday that he was not shocked by the report of decline.
“We are not surprised by the numbers we are seeing. While the pandemic may be over, the impact on church membership is still being felt,” said Nelson.
“In the midst of the lower numbers, we continue to find encouragement in that new worshiping communities are still on the increase. We have added more than 20 in the past year, bringing our total to 267.”
Not all of the numbers were in decline. The number of youth professions of faith increased from 5,708 in 2021 to 7,041 in 2022, while the number of “Professions of Faith & Reaffirmations” rose from 10,921 in 2021 to 15,113 in 2022.
“The challenge for the PCUSA remains the same: Look for new ways to engage and welcome young people into the fold. These are dramatic and fast-changing times,” Nelson added.
“Our world is changing, and the church needs to meet the growing needs of people who are finding themselves at a crossroads. We need to remind them that Jesus Christ is still in our midst and that means finding new, innovative ways to be church.”
As with many other religious groups in the United States, PCUSA has seen considerable decline in affiliation over the past couple of decades, with sharp declines in both membership and member congregations.
For example, PCUSA membership slipped below the 2 million member mark in 2011, while the number of affiliated congregations dropped below 10,000 back in 2014.
One factor in this decline has been the progressive theological direction of PCUSA, which has prompted hundreds of largely theologically conservative congregations to leave the denomination.
Last month, Nelson announced that he was stepping down as stated clerk on June 30, about a year before his second term would have ended, noting that while it "was not an easy decision," it was nevertheless “the right one to make for my family and the church in this time of change."
"I have sought God's will my entire life, following in the footsteps of my father and grandfather to preach the gospel in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)," stated Nelson.
"I believe that God calls us into new seasons in our life of discipleship. Following many conversations with my wife and daughter, I believe I have entered into this new season."
Most mainstream churches are now apostate.
go woke … go broke
Formerly a Christian church (although I didn’t subscribe to all of its doctrines). But since the leftist/ commie/ Nazi types seized control of its policies — a genuine Church of Satan. Anybody still in it should really please take a look at what it’s been preaching and move along to any of the churches that are still trying to teach proper Christian values. You’ll be so glad you did.
Progressivism is the off-ramp from Christianity, not an on-ramp to it through so-called ‘inclusiveness.’
Progressive ‘Christian’ churches (a largely American phenomenon) are uniformly losing members across the board.
Down from 6.2M million members in 1960. My Scotch Presbyterian ancestors have reached warp speed spinning in their graves.
Yes, indeed!
This quots is a giant half truth.
“We are not surprised by the numbers we are seeing. While the pandemic may be over, the impact on church membership is still being felt,” said Nelso”
If it were a real truth, the decline would be only due to and only since the Covid19 scare. But the decline has been ongoing fo a long time. The author of that quote just wanted to avoid discussing the truth.
Meanwhile Conservative Christian churches striving to remain faithful to the scriptures are the Christian groups growing the most; not the churches trying to accomodate themselves to current culturally popular non-Christian trends.
The growing Churches are not trying to avoid the scriptures and rewrite Christianity with non-Christian beliefs, just to try to be “popular” again.
RE: My Scotch Presbyterian ancestors have reached warp speed spinning in their graves
The PCUSA are heirs to the Westminster Confession of Faith. They have all but given it lip service in practice. You will find some of the most left-wing liberal pastors in the PCUSA, especially among it leadership.
Fly the fag flag, put “no hate” signs out in front and progressive slogans on the electronic sign, hire a lesbian pastor who Tweets and TikToks.
In other words, just copy the Methodists and UCC.
Presbyterian Church (USA) has been dead and become a Worldly Church years ago...
Please folks, do not confuse PCUSA with the Presbyterian Church of America, PCA, or other Presbyterian denominations that still take the Bible and Westminster Confession of Faith very seriously. PCUSA is PINO.
Just another manifestation of the current “seeker sensitive” “woke” drive to make the church acceptable to an increasingly sick and twisted world. If the world likes your church, then you’re doing it wrong. Jesus said that the world would hate us because they hate Him. They instinctively hate righteousness and those who preach the true gospel, because it identifies them as sinful and in need of repentance and salvation.
Western European churches are mostly so progressive that no one goes to them anymore. Without state support they would all be about gone.
Very few have cited one of my personal beliefs as to why many people abandon churches. I’m not being scientific or using polls for this.
In 1968 (among other times) Rev. Billy Graham said God hears every one of our prayers and answers them in some manner.
But sometimes his answer is: No.
I believe that causes millions to refuse to go back to worship again.
I know of some personal cases such as a young woman I was going out with whose parents divorced when she was a girl. When I would ask about her faith she looked into the distance and had a bitter expression and vaguely implied God decided not to answer her prayers and keep her parents together. She was a resolute anti-God person like today’s common stance by people under 40 (not everyone).
Fictional example but on one Dragnet the husband said “When our baby died we never went back to church again.” His wife firmly and resolutely said “Yes. Never again.” She looked like she was saying she wouldn’t buy a car from a certain crooked dealer or wouldn’t lend money to her drug addict nephew again.
But I believe all of us have known people who had their version of that if you inquire into their past.
C.S. Lewis wrote God in the Dock (the British term for a court where a defendant is tried under an indictment). Instead of faith and trust people make some conditions and see if God comes through. “Do not put God to the test.”
Catholic Dr.Gregory Popcak who runs a mental health and counseling ministry, said it is wrong to believe God is supposed to supply us with a perfect world of happiness and everything good when we pray. This is the Fallen World after
Adam and Eve and God didn’t drop the ball in making us happy—we should be amazed and glad a few things aren’t miserable in this world which is not supposed to be Heaven.
However, I think most of us slip into thinking God is a jukebox or vending machine giving us what we ask for in prayer for some good deeds.
It’s hard to shake that if we are praying for the survival
and freedom from pain of a baby, a child in the hospital or a loved one who is suffering. Or the safe return of a member of the armed forces going into a danger zone.
We pray and we hope.
Western Europe is so overwhelmingly anti-Christian that to even be suspected of following Jesus brings about all manner of scorn and disassociation. It is especially bad in France, but is getting similarly bad elsewhere.
Too many people expect God to be like a politician. Give money and he will give you what you want.
Too many people expect God to be like a politician. Give money and he will give you what you want.
Doesn’t work that way
Not a concern how much man loses, it’s a concern how much man abandones God. We prefer the god of our genitailia. Like a parent that so knows better, He waits for us to leave the pig slop meals and come back....Divibe Mercy awaits those that drop the Pride flag.
Ah, your Scotch Presbyterian ancestors would take comfort in all the N A P A R C.org affiliated churches. Aye, the covenant is being kept.
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