The Western church’s most critical problem
The Dropout Believer
Every church and Christian leader active in a local church in the West are aware of one of the most critical problems of the western church in the 21st century. What is it? It’s the dropout believer–the disconnected Christian who no longer is a part of the local church. Just about everyone knows some . . .
In our affluent western culture a large percentage of believers who profess faith in Jesus Christ no longer participate in the local church – the body of Christ. The Barna Group’s statistics are stunning. In 2016, of all adults in America, only 3 of ten are currently in church. And of the other 7 who are not in church, four used to be in church! We have now reached the tipping point in
America – there are more professed Christians not in church than those who remain in church today. In these “latter days” the “falling away” of many in the church is a disturbing reality, particularly in the West. This is a major problem for every dropout Christian and for the church! The current decline of western civilization is arguably attributable to the decline in the number of
Christians who are actively living the gospel. Wherever Christians provide “salt” and “light” in the culture by living their faith, society benefits. Murder, crime, hatred, racism, increased poverty, greed, and a superfluous abundance of laws restricting freedoms in every arena are a direct result of this decay.
Now, in 2022, after the global pandemic the dropout percentage is at 5.5 out of every 7 believers, or 78%! Can you imagine – of every 7 professed Christian adults, 6 of those are on the sidelines today! Lord, help your church to return to You!
“There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored,
all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:25-26).
Are you disconnected from the
Body of Christ?
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, He wants you connected to a local church. A church can be large or small and the style of church, worship, teaching, etc. can vary greatly, but as a believer, it is your responsibility to submit to the command of Christ to become a part of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). It doesn’t happen except in the community of believers (Acts 2:42-45).
Some Christians are dropout believers. That is, they have willfully disconnected themselves from the local church–the body of Christ. There are many reasons why a believer may become a dropout, but most are not the will of God. Exceptions are of course for aged and health reasons, or no local church (rare).
There are two key reasons why every believer needs to be connected to a local church: (1)He/she will not be pulled away by the issues and storms of life when they come and will find the anchor of help, hope, support, and prayer that the church provides and (2)The believer has gifts that the Spirit has placed in each one. The believer has a responsibility to the local church to minister those gifts. If not, the body of Christ suffers–spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. This is the height of selfishness for a believer to withhold his gifts from his brothers and sisters in Christ.
“If you are an active Christian, you can become a hunter of the harvest – order the ministry book now and begin engaging with dropouts in your own sphere of influence and see God begin changing their hearts!”
“Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power” (Psalm 110:3).
