Lay Liberalism and the Future of Evangelicalism
Albert Mohler
Friday, February 03, 2006

With amazing regularity, the national media take notice of the fact that, generally speaking, America's conservative churches are growing while the more liberal churches are losing members. If this is news, it is almost a half-century old by now. What is going on?

Observers of American church life notice this striking phenomenon--the high levels of lay involvement in evangelical churches. Against the backdrop of decline and membership losses in the more liberal denominations, trends related to attendance, giving, and active participation among church members are setting evangelical churches apart from larger trends. Why?

Liberal churches and denominations are suffering massive membership losses and the evacuation of active church members from congregational life. While some observers are interested only in the levels of church attendance and membership, others note that active participation in the life and ministry of the church is directly linked to long-term involvement and attendance. The rest!