“He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:33).

The most recent Pew Forum survey revealed that Christianity in America is in decline, and some have suggested that Christianity is dying. The number of “nones”, those who have no religious affiliation, has grown from 16.1 to 22.8 percent since 2007. The number of those who call themselves Christians in America has declined from 78.4 to 70.6 percent.

Most of this decline occurred among mainline Protestants (18.4 to 14.7 percent) and Catholics (23.9 to 20.8 percent). Evangelicals (which include the churches of Christ in this survey) declined less than one percent. The number of Christians with strong convictions has pretty much stayed the same, but many cultural Christians (people who call themselves Christians because of culture) and nominal Christians (people who do not take their faith very seriously) are becoming “nones”.

The churches of Christ have declined in recent years. We are losing more than 8,000 members and about fifty churches every year (147 congregations from 2012 to 2015). In spite of this, we still have the fourth most congregations of any religious group in America. In actual attendance of the Lord’s Day, we rank 8th. We surpass almost everyone in the percentage of members who attend church and who give.

As you can see, we have much to do to take the gospel to the lost. The world has always been worldly and deceived by false religion. We must do all we can to preach the truth in love, so that by all means we might save some.

We all want to share the Good News of Jesus better. World Bible School has simple, effective tools that let everyday Christians share Jesus with real people who want to learn. You can be an online friend for people who have enrolled on their own to study the Bible. Anyone can do it — youth, singles, families and seniors. Right now, WBS students are waiting for someone to help them. You can become WBS study helper today at <worldbibleschool.net/teach>. Phil Sanders (via Joe Winnett)