Farewell to Our Congregations in North America?

Farewell, farewell, farewell... Three times over we read that word in the last three issues of the Banner of Truth. Farewell to the church in Canada, farewell to a Christian lifestyle in the U.S., farewell to traditional religion in the Netherlands... It is quite disheartening to realize what is happening! Many Europeans in general and many Dutchmen in particular are saying farewell to Christianity in its traditional form. Numerous people have left the church, and many more are expected to follow suit whereas the false religion of Islam is on the rise. Our sister denomination, after having enjoyed an annual increase in membership over the last four decades, has now come to a point where the growth seems to be stagnating.

In this article we will look at the condition of our congregations in North America in terms of growth. First, however, we want to address a question that may have been triggered by the previous article. Is the situation on the other side of the ocean really looking so grim? Some doubt it. They even speak of a “Christian comeback in the Netherlands” and of the “return of religion in Europe.” Are they right or are they sadly mistaken?

Return of religion?

The Christian Post recently carried an article by Chuck Colson expressing a great measure of optimism. According to Colson the tide is turning. Evidence of this would be the “corporate prayer” movement (the phenomenon whereby many companies facilitate on-site prayer meetings for their employees), the success of books published by Christian writers (such as Jan Siebelink), and the wide reception of the so-called “Alpha Courses” (supplying newcomers with an introduction to the Christian faith). The guest columnist of the Christian Post believes that people have begun to see that the welfare state which tried to provide everything and the liberal lifestyle which didn’t forbid anything did not bring much happiness after all.

Even secular agencies have begun to realize that the churches give an important contribution to the life of society. A report of the Social and Cultural Plan Bureau (SCP) in the Netherlands, published in December 2006, shows that active church members donate more than three times as much money to charitable causes than the average Dutchman does. In addition, church members are more involved in unpaid voluntary work than non-church members are. The SCP concludes that church members on the whole are better citizens than others and that the process of secularization has had a negative impact on the cohesion of modern society. ■

It is good to hear this, certainly from the side of a “neutral” organization. The reflections of Chuck Colson also have a certain value. They show, for one thing, that man is a fundamentally religious being. Of course we knew that already from the Scriptures (see, for instance, Romans 1 & 2) and from our catechism booklets. Did not John Calvin say that everyone has a “seed of religion” in him?

Yet we should not attach too much significance to the “return of religion” in the Netherlands and elsewhere. In most cases, this return is definitely not a return to the church, to biblical doctrine, or to a Christian lifestyle. It rather is a selecting of elements from different religions, particularly Eastern religions with their emphasis on meditation, yoga, reincarnation, etc. The result is often a mix with a strong New Age aroma. Moreover, this new religion is mainly meant for one’s private life. It neither makes people more God-fearing nor turns them into more sociable creatures. It is a religion in which one is “believer and God at the same time” (Emile Durkheim). It is not about redemption but about self-realization. Its aim is not the honor of God but a good feeling for man. It is paganism disguised in a religious garb. In a word, it is enmity against the living God.

Is our religion better? It is a great privilege when we may live under the truth, but how is it inwardly? The religion of the Bible is the true religion, but does a true faith dwell in our hearts? We, too, are inclined to pursue what suits us. By a true faith man is deeply humbled before God and learns to seek salvation outside of himself in Jesus Christ. When that may be our portion, it will not be our primary aim to have our own desires gratified but to live for the glory of our Maker. How much of this religion can be found today, even within our Christian circles?

The NRC in the U.S. and Canada

Meanwhile we have turned our eyes to our own continent again. Much could be said about the shallowness of Christianity today. Many people are hopping from one church to the other. The average American Protestant does not remain longer than fourteen years in a particular church denomination. Many change churches about every five years. Where is the sense of loyalty and faithfulness? Much could also be said about the relative value of America’s “civil religion.” Of the 535 members of the present United States Congress only six persons profess to be nonreligious. Yet the government, as well as the country, is in a state of steady decline. On the other side of the border, the situation is not much better. Of the fifty members of the Canadian parliament who participated in a recent survey, none indicated to be nonreligious. Still, the country appears to be on a downhill slope both morally and spiritually. However, we leave all this aside. The question that concerns us now is how is it in our own churches? Let us first look at some statistics.

A glance at the NRC yearbooks of the last decades shows a few interesting, and sometimes disturbing, facts. On January 1, 2006, our churches numbered 9,852 members. A year earlier, this number was 9,681, which means that the year 2005 saw a growth of 171 members. More people made confession of faith; however, fewer children were baptized.

At the end of 1992, the NRC had approximately 10,000 members. Mainly as a result of the split in 1993, the number had dropped under 9,000 by the end of 1994. At present, our churches are slowly climbing towards the same number that we had some fifteen years ago. Yet most of the American congregations and some of the Canadian congregations are experiencing little or no growth at all. This may be ascribed in part to the fact that in some localities there seems to be little future for young families so they move to other localities where there is, for instance, a school of our own denomination. For the larger part, however, the world and other church denominations seem to pull away many a member, professing or baptized. This should fill us with a deep concern and inner grief.

Numbers—not the whole story!

Of course, numbers do not tell us the whole story. Statistics and figures may have a certain value, but their value is limited. At least three things should be kept in mind. In the first place, figures are rather cold. When we look at figures of people leaving the church, we are actually talking about souls, souls that are created for a never-ending eternity! Do we ever feel the weight of that?

Secondly, even in denominations where figures about people leaving the church and people still attending the church may tell a sad story, they may still be painting a rosier picture than is justified. If people belong to a church where the truth of God’s Word is not heard, what will it avail them? There are millions of church attendees who never hear a cutting-off or separating preaching; who never listen to the gospel of free and sovereign grace. They are being told that all is well with them. Thus numerous souls are being deceived for an all-decisive eternity. Alas, even where the scriptural-experiential truth is heard, many are total strangers of the life of grace. How much deadness, hardness, and complacency prevail in our midst! We may be members of a true church, but have we already become true members of the church?

Thirdly, the true church has always been a minority in this world. When Rev. Hellenbroek, in A Specimen of Divine Truths, asks whether multitude of men is a mark of the true church, his answer is as simple as it as straightforward: “No, Christ’s church is a little flock,” as found in Luke 12:32. By nature we are inclined to seek greatness and power. We want to have influence and success. That is why we count our money at regular times. That may be our motive when we count our church members and calculate our growth. Such head counts are not without risks as we can learn from the history of King David’s census in 2 Samuel 24. Consequently, we need to exercise caution when we deal with figures and numbers!

The candlestick removed?

There is another thing which we should not forget. The church may decline in the West but expand in other parts of the world. In Europe and North America we have a tendency to consider ourselves as the center of the world. When the church declines in our countries, we may therefore be tempted to think that these are the days of the great apostasy and that the end is very near. Well, this may be the case, but can we be sure? Do we know what is happening in countries like China and on continents like Africa and South America? While on an average day some 7,600 people in the West, especially in Europe, close the church door behind them, 23,000 people in Africa join one of the many flourishing churches on their continent. Whereas—just to give an example—mainline churches in America and Canada are ordaining female ministers and gay bishops, their African counterparts are raising their voices in protest and pleading for biblical practices. The numerical basis of Christendom seems to be shifting from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere. Is the end of the world at hand, or is the Lord removing the candlestick from among us only to place it elsewhere in the world? There is reason to fear, to humble ourselves before the Lord because of our sins, and to beg Him not to forsake us.

At the same time we should not overlook the good things that are still left among us. There are people who leave the church, but there are also people who come back. It happens that people who have never seen a church on the inside are brought under the truth and become examples for others. There are clear examples of this in several of our congregations. Figures may give us much information, but they do not tell us everything. Prognoses about empty churches may be verified in the future, but they may also come to nought if the Lord would pour out His Spirit on Jews and Gentiles. The number of those that must be saved is not yet full. The Lord is still at work, also among our young people.

In the fall of 2006, Rev. J. Roos, a minister of a sister denomination, was interviewed in the Gezinsgids, a Dutch periodical for the family. Encouraged by what he saw among young people in our days, he said: “The Lord has promised us the fulfillment of Zachariah 8:5, ‘And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.’ Therefore we may point the Lord to His promise. ‘Because the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age endure’ (Psalter 268:4). We cannot maintain God’s church, but the Lord Himself will ensure that the last spiritual stone will be added. Indeed, Satan will not gain the victory, for Christ has bruised his head. That is why God’s church will neither become extinct nor be destroyed.” Let us take this word to heart and give ourselves no rest until we may know that we, too, are such a living stone in the church of the Lord!

— Rev. C. Sonnevelt
Lethbridge, AB

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