Traditional Evangelism Takes Back-Seat in Presbyterian Church
According to the latest “snapshot” of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., an average Presbyterian will likely invite people to church but shy away from sharing stories about personal faith.
According to the latest “snapshot” of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., an average Presbyterian will likely invite people to church but shy away from sharing stories about personal faith.
The results of the February 2005 Presbyterian Panel survey, which was released last week, revealed that 59 percent of PC(USA) members and 68 percent of its elders invited at least one person to worship in the past year. Furthermore, 61 percent of the members and 77 percent of the elders reportedly invited someone in the past year to a “function other than worship” at church.
However, according to pastors who responded to the survey, most Presbyterians are not willing to share their faith to friends, family members, or even their neighbors.
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Of 406 pastors who were asked whether their congregation is willing to make phone calls inviting people in the neighborhood to come to church, only three percent gave an affirmative answer. Similarly, only one percent said their church members would evangelize door-to-door, and seven percent said their flock speaks to friends about faith. In addition, only nine percent of pastors said their church members would contact people they already know and urge them to come to service, and only five percent would visit newly arrived Presbyterian neighbors.
These results were part of the latest “Presbyterian Panel” poll conducted by the denomination’s research division. The Presbyterian Panel is made up of 5,000 randomly selected members, elders and ministers, who are given questionnaires about their faith, practices, opinions and beliefs five times a year. While this panel does not define the characteristics of the church, it serves as a general marker for the denomination’s current state.
“I think Presbyterians, like folks in a number of other mainline protestant denominations have had some mixed feelings about sharing their faith and talking with others about Christian faith in general,” explained Perry Chang, Associate for Congregational Research at the PC(USA) that conducted the survey.
These “mixed-feelings” may partially explain why large mainline denominations are losing members by the thousands each year.
“Like most mainline denominations, we’re shrinking, and this is definitely a challenge for us,” said Chang. “I’m not sure whether the reticence of many Presbyterians to talk about their faith is a critical factor in that shrinking, but sharing can only help.”
Robert A. Pitman, moderator of the leadership team at Knox Fellowship, agrees that this lack of witnessing “is only one of many reasons why the church has been declining.”
Pitman, a Presbyterian minister, says other reasons like cultural relevance and lay education can better explain the downward slope.
“There are so many PC(USA) churches that are anxiously preparing for 1957 to return. They are locked in a traditional style, and they aren’t speaking adequately to the current contemporary secular society,” he said.
“Another factor is that the laity has not been properly equipped to share their faith in secular society. They see themselves as assistants to the minister,” Pitman explained. “But if the Christian faith is going to impact, it has to reach into the marketplace and the communities where people gather and live.”
Dr. Charles Neder, national director of the Presbyterians for Renewal Youth Ministry, believes this outreach is already happening – just not within the leadership of the church.
“Presbyterians are not unwilling to share their faith,” said Neder. “The PC(USA) in its grassroots is a strong evangelical organization where many people are sharing their faith and people are coming to Christ.
“In the upper level, some decisions do not appear to be evangelical, but everywhere I go, I find people who are willing to walk with people and transform lives.”
Furthermore, Neder believes that if the panel questions were to have been re-worded, the results would have fared more positively for the church.
“Door to door evangelism is not the only kind of outreach,” he said. “As far as I know, I’m not even sure if I’m willing to go door-to-door.”
The questionnaire should ask whether Presbyterians “walk with people and listen to their concern,” he said. “If you pose the question that way, a lot of people would be answering yes.”
This may explain why some PC(USA) churches grow even when their members do not evangelize or share faith in the traditional sense, according to statistics.
“There may be other ways we can work to illustrate and communicate our faith than talking about it directly,” explained Chang. “Many Presbyterians may share their faith indirectly and through the way they live their lives.”
In other results, the panel found that 50 percent of members and 57 percent of elders say their congregations offered classes for programs in personal evangelism. Also, 57 percent of members and 75 percent of elders would be interested in more congregational training in personal evangelism.
For more information on the panel, visit: www.pcusa.org/resources/panel.
