3 Types of Dechurched People

3 Types of Dechurched People
“More people have left the church in the last twenty-five years than all the new people who became Christians from the First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, and Billy Graham crusades combined.” -Jim Davis

 I’ve been reading Jim Davis’s book The Great Dechurching. Davis performed the largest study of dechurched people ever conducted in the United States. The results were shocking. If you aren’t familiar with the term “dechurched” – here’s the definition provided by Davis: “someone who used to go to church at least once per month but now goes less than once a year.” I imagine someone sprang to mind as you read that definition. Dechurched people aren’t just statistics, they’re people we know and love.

Davis’s study found that some forty million Americans have left the church in the last twenty-five years. They have left for a variety of reasons, and you can expect to hear more from me about those reasons in a future article. But today, I’d like to offer some hope amidst this bad news. The overwhelming majority of dechurched people are willing to come back to church today!

Those who are willing to come back fall into three categories:

1) People Who Need a Nudge: The vast majority of people who have left the church did so casually. They left because they moved, because their children got involved in sports on Sunday, because of COVID, or because their lives simply got too busy. The data tells us that if someone invited them to church, nearly every one of them would accept that invitation. Who do you know that needs a nudge? Will you commit to reaching out to them this week?

2) People Who Need Our Dinner Table: A much less sizeable group of people left the church because they were hurt by the church in some way. Davis calls these folks “dechurched casualties.” A nudge will not be enough to get them back in church. Instead, they need your dinner table. They need to be invited into a relationship with a church-going Christian so that they can see and feel the love of Christ through you first. Then, and only then, will they be willing to return to church. Who do you know that needs your dinner table? Will you commit to having them over for a meal sometime in the next two weeks?

3) People Who Need a Long Term Relationship: Finally, Davis found that some people have been so badly hurt that even our dinner tables won’t be enough to get them back in church. They need months or even years of care and trust-building before they will be willing to step foot in a church again. Who do you know that needs this kind of Christ-like love from you? Will you commit to them long term?

By the grace of God, dechurched people are returning to his church. We have started to see that return at CPC through the ministry of faithful friends .Each of us knows someone who has dechurched. If we will prayerfully commit to ministering to these folks – their lives, our church, and our community will never be the same.

Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster