In the Name of God

ABC presented "In the Name of God" on March 16, 1995. Peter Jennings analyzed some of the growing churches/movements in the U.S., and concluded with this question, "As these churches try to attract sell-out crowds, are they in danger of selling out the gospel?"

Community Survey Questions:

1. Are you an active member of a nearby church?

2. What do you think is the greatest need in this community?

3. Why do you think most people don't attend church?

4. If you were looking for a church in the area, what kinds of things would you look for?

5. What advice would you give me as the pastor of a new church?

6. Are you interested in getting more information about this new church?

Surveys show that as much as 85 percent of church membership growth is made up of people who church-hop. Other surveys show that there has been no real growth in church membership in recent years; increase in some denominations is simply offset by decrease in others.*

*Gallup says 81 percent of those who have changed are Protestant, and one out of four have changed faiths or denominations (23 percent). He writes: "A superficial view of the statistics on religious life in America would suggest that there is little change over the decades" (this, in spite of what he calls "constant denominational shifting")