50 CHURCHES IN THREE YEARS

Upsided Church Sculpture, Calgary Canada

Fifty churches in three years. Sounds almost like a grad school Holy Land study promo. Or a minister who can't find their niche.
But Diana Butler Bass made the journey figuratively and geographically to ascertain the spiritual health of the remaining mainline churches in the U.S. An author and scholar, Bass found in the individual congregation both a movement away from the dogmas of the denominations and toward the experience of activism. An activism rooted in the personal but bearing fruit in the communal.
She states her belief that the separation of the post WWII culture from the mainline message of the churches at that time was what initiated the imminent decline of their influence. There was simply a disconnect in what the churches were answering with what the people were asking and seeking.The church as illustrated in the accompanying picture appears symptomatic of that experience.
Below are some of Bass's conclusions:

Mainline demography:
"most members are over 60 and their average congregational size is 150 to 200 persons"

The influence of post WWII mobility and culture:
"when folks move (figuratively / geographically) their religion typically changes"

"a (church) culture that was being questioned...had no idea how to voice their theologies and how to do their work."

"a whole generation of spiritual seekers wanting spiritual experience and the mainline had nothing to offer them."

Bass's goal:
"look for vital and growing mainline churches"

"People were alive and offering hospitality and had a sense of mission, real spiritual passion."

"Christianity as a way of life that offers people meaning in the world...learning and teaching along the way."

"an amazing need for open communities...which they can ask their questions"

Mainline movement from the individual to the communal:
"Mainline congregations have cared for a long time about justice."