![]() As I have shared in prior posts. I have often heard the cries of church girls all over asking the question via a rant; “WHERE ARE ALL THE GOOD CHRISTIAN SINGLE MEN?” Usually this comes across as a bit of a slam because I am usually the single man sitting there on the receiving end of the gripe and somehow these girls do not want to acknowledge my existence. That is a different topic for another day. But all in all, these girls are asking a very good question. So, where all my boyz at? According to several world demographic studies, the male to female ratio is approximately 1:1 (with a slight edge to the boys). That means there is at any given point one male to one female worldwide. Of course that does not mean those numbers represent your neighborhood or even your country. It is merely a world average. In Asian nations there are a significantly higher amounts of males than females. However, predominately in Western countries there are vastly higher amounts of females then males (credits to Wikipedia). This means that men are not dying off, but are perhaps sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Regardless, they are out there but are not found in churches. The church's demographics do not represent the world's demographics at all! Maybe church isn't for everyone everywhere. Several more studies conducted in the USA and other Western nations have concluded quite alarmingly that church attendance is down worldwide with some exceptions in Asian nations. Now, of course it needs to be said that being present and accounted for in a Church pew on the weekend does not make or break your faith in Christ. We know there are a variety of circumstances that may lead to one’s absence on any given Sunday. However, the falling numbers in church participation are often correlated with the numbers we are seeing of people who are leaving the faith in general. My heart is breaking as I read some of these stats. And the eye test is confirming the stats that I see. Young people are leaving the church quickly while the older generation is simply dying off. And men are leaving at a higher rate than women. Most people will look at this and conclude the obvious; the church is dying! The church and its survival can be studied in the same way a government will study the birth and mortality rates of its people. These numbers are essential for politicians to know how to plan the future. Countries like Japan and Korea (where I live now) have detrimental birth rates. Basically, not enough people are having babies and therefore the nation will slowly disappear if this trend keeps up. The same can be true in church. Pastors can look out into their congregations and see more and more empty spots and naturally become concerned. Church survival 101: When two church people get together and have children, there is a strong chance those children will someday join the church as well. Numbers have proven that children who grow up in church will more than likely join as adults as opposed to those who did not grow up in the church. Although, many kids who grow up in the church are more and more not returning. Therefore, good and healthy church families are needed for a stable church future. A 4 to 1 ratio among an already declining church population is not good. There is a lot of discussion involved in this paragraph we do not have time to go into. Okay, now that I have painted a rather depressing picture of the church's current state and future, allow me a chance to try to unpack this information and find out what is causing this trend. Church attendance is decreasing for a plethora of reasons. A few of these are simply: -Church is boring or archaic and people do not want to be a part of it. -The growth of science has heavily influenced the decline of church. -People are just busier than they have ever been. -Christians do not feel that the church is helping them in any way worth attending for. This leads to online sermons or going to small groups or other means of nontraditional “church” communities. -Technology has replaced God in most people’s lives. These are just a few of the many excuses on a long list of reasons why people are leaving the church or not joining to begin with. But is there any reason why there is a 4 to 1 ratio of single men to women? I believe there are several causes. Please vote below on which reason you believe is the biggest. This list is a collection of answers I have found all over the internet. Next week we will talk about what is contributing to why there are so many single women and what the consequence of this could be.
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LUKE R ELIE Archives
February 2021
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