Why The Media?
By Rev Karl Faase
The Need
The statistics from the Australian census has shown that the Christian church is losing membership and is in danger of 'slipping off the landscape'. As well‚ recent National Church Life Survey (NCLS) results indicate that while in some areas the church is growing‚ in others it is stagnant and aging.
The church has lost numbers‚ influence and presence.
Influence
Along with the drop in numbers comes a reduction in influence. Where the church was once at the centre of the community's life‚ it is now relegated to the edges. The present publicity over sexual abuse within the church only helps to deepen the community's suspicion of the church‚ it's leaders and it's message.
All this means that the church's voice is being heard less and less and the response to its message is becoming more and more cynical. Rather than being viewed as a key community institution‚ it is becoming a relic of a past age.
Presence
Does this lack of influence matter? There are those that would argue that the church's proper place in the community is on the margins and that is where it ministers best.
It can be asserted that opportunity to minister is being diminished by our reduced presence. The less the community know of the Christian message‚ the harder the task of sharing Jesus. We live in a community where the McDonald's golden arches are more prominent than the cross. We need to seriously consider taking some radical steps to increase our presence.
How many are we influencing?
The problem with much of the efforts used to respond to this issue is that the church largely talks to itself. The National Church Life survey of 1996 revealed that in a typical week about 1.8 million people or 10% of the population attend a Catholic‚ Anglican or Protestant church in Australia. Of those attending about 50% are Catholics. While many Australians say they are affiliated with a Christian denomination that does not mean that they are in church. Of the 3.9 million who indicate that they are Anglicans only 5% are in church on any given Sunday.
Churches who strive to be involved in evangelism often have large numbers attending‚ but who comes? It is mostly Christians. That is not to say that evangelism is not happening‚ or that people are not responding to the Christian message‚ but the numbers are small in relation to the community and the need.