Take a look at the history of Christian missions and
you will notice a consistent pattern:
From the beginning — and I’m talking about the Book of Acts —
women have been among the strongest mission supporters, the most faithful
prayer warriors and the most generous mission givers. Against daunting odds,
they also have proven to be some of the boldest, most committed missionaries
sent by churches in more recent times. Think Lottie Moon and her heroic
co-workers in the formative stages of the American mission movement.
So
what happens to missions tomorrow, or 10 years from now, if significantly fewer
women vitally participate in the life of local churches?
That’s
one of the worrisome questions raised by new research
released in June by the Barna Group, a Christian research organization. The
findings show an increasing percentage of American women, even among those who
self-identify as believing Christians, joining the current social shift away
from church involvement.
“Historically,
men have been less likely to regularly attend church than women,” Barna
reported. “Just over a decade ago, the gender gap was three men for every two
unchurched women. In other words, fully 60 percent of unchurched people were
men. Today, only 54 percent of the unchurched are men. In other words, the
gender gap has narrowed from 20 points to just eight points in the last 10
years.
“Here
is the landscape of women and their churchgoing: While just over half of all
adult women have gone to church in the past week or past month, nearly four in
10 have not been to church in the past six months. This last group represents
the majority of unchurched women — they are the dechurched. … It’s not
that most of these unchurched women are unfamiliar with or inexperienced in
church, but rather that at one point they decided church was no longer for
them.”
They
aren’t necessarily abandoning the faith or rejecting the church. Most are just
slipping away. Barna identifies five trends in the quiet exodus:
n Competing
priorities
— “When asked to rank several priorities in
their life, women far and away ranked family relationships as their top
priority (68 percent),” the report said. “Church or religious activities did
come in second — but a very distant second (11 percent) and only marginally
inched out personal time/development (10 percent).” Surprisingly, work or
career ranked as the top priority for only 5 percent of respondents.
Unsurprisingly, it was the second-highest time commitment. In other words,
whether women love their jobs or not, they’re spending a lot of time at work.
n Busyness — “In the end, many women today are just busy.
Really, really busy,” Barna concluded. “And they are experiencing a tension
between things they might want to do and things they actually have time for. …
[More than 70] percent of women feel stressed out, 58 percent are tired and 48
percent say they are overcommitted. The percentages are even higher among moms
with kids at home. Nearly nine in 10 women say they want to improve in at least
one area of life, and what is the area they cite the most, over work, family
and friends? Church. [But] the simple fact of the matter is many women — and
especially moms —feel like they just don’t have time for church in today’s
busy, fast-paced life.”
n Lack of emotional
engagement and support — Only 17 percent of
women responding to the survey said they feel “very” supported at church. More
than 40 percent sense no emotional support at all there. This isn’t some vague,
touchy-feely thing; it is a “relational disconnect,” according to Barna. Faith
is about relationships with God and people. If women don’t form strong
relationships with others at church, they will look for them elsewhere.
n Changing family
structures
— Most churches are geared toward traditional
family structures: husband, wife and kids. Singles of both sexes have long felt
like an afterthought in many church settings. Most American women are marrying
later (mid-to-late 20s); many of them want to establish themselves as
self-sufficient individuals before even considering marriage. What does the
church offer them?
n Changes in belief — More than 60
percent of unchurched women overall say they are Christians, even if they
haven’t attended church in at least six months. But only 46 percent of
unchurched Millennial women self-identify as Christians. Two of every 10
American Millennial women now identify as atheists, according to the report.
“Many
women — particularly those still identifying as Christian — may want to believe
that they can hold to their faith even as they find less and less time in their
life for church,” wrote Roxanne Stone, Barna Group vice president, in
an article for Today’s Christian Woman. “However, Barna’s
research over the years has shown that people who are disconnected from church
— even those who self-identify as Christian — are less likely to engage in
other faith activities, including Bible reading, prayer, volunteering and
charitable giving. … Whether we want to admit it or not, church attendance
roots believers in regular faith rhythms and increases many other related faith
practices.“
Those
“related faith practices” include the chief purposes of the church in the
world: to love and worship God, to lift His name everywhere and to make
disciples of Christ among all peoples.
Counteracting
the movement of women away from vital church involvement will be a huge,
complex challenge in the days ahead. But if you’re a church leader, here are a
few questions that might help you get started:
Can
busy moms and working women find real relationships in your church that help
relieve the stress and isolation of their frantic lives, while drawing them
toward God? Can young women searching for personal identity find encouragers in
your church who will help them find their identity in Christ? Can women looking
for deeper life purpose than their endless to-do list find exciting ways
through your church to serve Christ and share the gospel in your community and
around the world?
Lottie
Moon was once a young woman — notorious for skipping chapel at school —
searching for purpose in life. When she found it, she changed the world.
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