SDA church - fastest growing Church in America

[BobRyan]

Quote:

from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-03-18-Adventists_17_ST_N.htm

Adventists' back-to-basics faith is fastest growing U.S. church

G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service

Updated 3/17/2011 5:36:48 PM |

Rest on the Sabbath. Heed Old Testament dietary codes. And be ready for Jesus to return at any moment.

If these practices sound quaint or antiquated, think again. They're hallmarks of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the fastest-growing Christian denomination in North America.

Newly released data show Seventh-day Adventism growing by 2.5% in North America, a rapid clip for this part of the world, where Southern Baptists and mainline denominations, as well as other church groups are declining. Adventists are even growing 75% faster than Mormons (1.4 percent), who prioritize numeric growth.

For observers outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the growth rate in North America is perplexing.

"You've got a denomination that is basically going back to basics ... saying, 'What did God mean by all these rules and regulations and how can we fit in to be what God wants us to be?'," said Daniel Shaw, an expert on Christian missionary outreach at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. "That's just totally contrary to anything that's happening in American culture. So I'm saying, 'Whoa! That's very interesting.' And I can't answer it."

Have you seen signs of rapid growth in your local congregation over the past 3 years? The one I attend has almost doubled.

Still - the U.S growth is only half of the average outside of the U.S. -- though it may be comparable with the E.U. and places like Australia.

Quote:

Seventh-day Adventists are asking a different question: Why isn't the church growing much faster on these shores, which is home to just 1.1 million of the world's 16 million Adventists? Despite its North American roots, the church is growing more than twice as fast overseas.

in Christ,

Bob

[Sojourner]

Interestingly Bob its also been said that the SDA is the fastest growing Denomination on the East Coast of Australia. Considering that many find it hard to evangalize here that is no mean feat!

[Gregory Matthews]

Bob:

thanks.

NOTE: Click on the URL and read the entire article.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

from a year later in 2012, the LDS denomination is #1... source

[Sojourner]

In terms of what the chap said from Fuller Theological Seminary (Easilly one of the best Seminaries in the world in protestant circles), I would say that one of the clear advantages the SDA have is that it is not ever hard to understand exactly what it is that denomination stands for on points of doctrine and whatever the lastest theological arguements are in the church in general.

A Baptist Union Conference was held here in Australia last week and it was revealed that figures suggest that churches in Australia that have strengthened their focus on Social Justice issues are still declining at a rapid rate. The suggested reason is because it becomes very blurred as to what else they stand for as they try and appeal to Evangelical and Liberal Christians. Over here that does not mix well and the advancement of Liberal Theology in traditional churches usually means the exodus of the evangelicals and the closure and amalgamation of individual churches in the denomination, Methodist, Salvation Army, Congregational and Presbyterian (Uniting) are all good examples of that.

Conversley the SDA would be perhaps amongst the hardest churches for Liberal Theology to be accepted and embraced and I suspect this is why many Evangelicals are actally turning to the SDA in favor of simply repeating the process with another protestant church.

As for the LDS, the Reorganised LDS accepted the Trinity as their doctrine and changed their name to the "Community of Christ", so I am not sure if the x no of million of them are included in the second article or not? I am not sure if the other LDS group accept them as still being mormons or not? Whilst they have not built any churches in my state since the early 1980's, they have built a temple where for a gift to the church of $10 000 you can go there and have your marriage "sealed" for eternity if you wish...

[BobRyan]

Conversley the SDA would be perhaps amongst the hardest churches for Liberal Theology to be accepted and embraced and I suspect this is why many Evangelicals are actally turning to the SDA in favor of simply repeating the process with another protestant church.

As for the LDS, the Reorganised LDS accepted the Trinity as their doctrine and changed their name to the "Community of Christ", so I am not sure if the x no of million of them are included in the second article or not?

[BobRyan]

from a year later in 2012, the LDS denomination is #1... source

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

agreed, but I highly doubt the SDA church was #1 in the other 25 States.

I think both stories are indicative of polls and statistics that can be formulated to show just about whatever suits one's fancy..

[JoeMo]

Quote:

I think both stories are indicative of polls and statistics that can be formulated to show just about whatever suits one's fancy.

Agreed. We see a lot of people who are "church shopping" come through our doors; and a lot of casual attendance, but people aren't standing in line to become members. Many of the young people who come to our church are motivated by praise and worship; and could care less about doctrine. Not saying that is good or bad; just saying it is.