Reclaiming the Formerly Churched

Formerly churched” — what a strange category. By definition, it refers to those who regularly participated in church life as adults in the past but no longer do so. How many people fall into this category is up for debate. All of us know people who fit the definition, but there are no reliable statistics on the total size of the group. 
  
A look at Alabama Baptist statistics might provide some insight. When someone asks the membership of churches cooperating with the Alabama Baptist State Convention, the answer is usually the total membership — 1,125,821, according to the last report. That is almost one-fourth of the population of the whole state. 
  
But there is another important figure: resident members, or the number of baptized members who live in the community served by the church. That number is 787,163. That means about 30 percent of Alabama Baptist church members live away from the communities where they hold church membership. The likelihood is that these would fall into the category of formerly churched.
  
There is more. According to the Annual Church Profile submitted by churches, the average Sunday morning attendance for all cooperating Alabama Baptist churches is 390,016. That is about half the resident member total. If attendance patterns are used to project the percentage of resident members who attend church at least once a month, the number of people actively involved in Alabama Baptist churches would climb to more than 600,000. That still leaves a minimum of 125,000 resident members who could fall into the formerly churched category. 
  
The bottom line is that between 40 percent and 45 percent of the total membership of cooperating Alabama Baptist churches is inactive. That is a significant number for our denomination and a significant number for individual churches. 
  
The most common reason for moving to the formerly churched category is “changes in life situation,” according to a recent study by LifeWay Christian Resources. The category includes such things as too busy, moved too far from church and got divorced or separated. 
  
Lifestyle changes is followed by “disenchantment with pastor/church,” “church not fulfilling needs” and “changes in beliefs.” 
  
Interestingly 62 percent of respondents are open to resuming church attendance though they were not actively looking. Only 4 percent are seeking a church home. That means two out of three formerly churched individuals are open to becoming active in church life once again. 
  
The question is what can move a person from the formerly churched category to the “active in church” category. The answer is relationships. 
  
Participants in the LifeWay study were asked what could prompt them to regular church attendance. Forty-one percent said if “a friend/acquaintance invited me.” “If I knew there were people like me there” was the response of 35 percent. Being invited by children or adult family members each was stated by 25 percent of respondents. 
  
The largest response was “if I simply felt it was time to return to church” with 58 percent. That is not likely to happen if formerly churched people are left to themselves. It is more likely to happen when active church members help others realize they are wanted and needed in a local congregation.
 
A significant number, 31 percent, said they could be prompted back into church life “if I felt God was calling me to visit the church.” Again that is not likely to happen if one is left alone. It is more likely to happen as church members build relationships with the formerly churched. God does work through human instruments. 
  
The percentages add up to more than 100 percent because respondents could indicate what actions might bring them back to church. Still the importance of relationships jumps out from the findings. 
  
Relationships can change priorities of busy schedules. Relationships can overcome disenchantment. Relationships can heal breaches that stymie spiritual growth. 
  
Not everyone is open to returning to church life. Twenty-eight percent of respondents in LifeWay’s survey said they were “unlikely” to resume church attendance in the foreseeable future. And some people simply walk away from God. About one in 10 indicated he or she was turning away from Christianity or a belief in God at all. 
  
But the 28 percent who might not return should not keep the church from going after the 66 percent open to returning. A church can begin with its own membership roll. It might be surprising how many formerly churched members might be willing to return to a church fellowship that is a caring, concerned, involved, relationship-oriented fellowship.