Jan. 18, 2026 - Faith Requires Action

The statistics are sobering. Since the year 2000, the number of Americans who never attend church has been climbing steadily upward, while weekly attendance has plummeted. Before the pandemic, approximately 3,500 people were leaving congregations every day—that's 1.2 million American Christians walking away from church every year. Today, church participation among U.S. adults has fallen below 50% for the first time in modern history.

But this isn't just about numbers on a spreadsheet. This is about a fundamental shift in how we understand and practice our faith.

There's a dangerous misconception spreading through modern Christianity: the idea that believing is enough. We identify as Christians, we may even consider ourselves members of a church, but our participation tells a different story. The average church member now attends just 1.1 Sundays per month, down from 2.1 Sundays a month just a generation ago.

This brings us to a crucial biblical truth found in the letter of James, written by the half-brother of Jesus himself. James, known in the early church as "Old Camel Knees" because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer that he developed thick calluses, understood something essential: faith without works is dead.

James wasn't advocating for earning salvation through good deeds. Rather, he was addressing a truth that resonates powerfully today—authentic faith naturally produces action. If we claim to follow Christ but our lives show no evidence of that commitment, what does our faith really mean?

The reasons behind declining church attendance are complex and multifaceted. Cultural shifts toward individualistic spirituality have led many to declare, "I'm spiritual, but not religious." There's increased competition on Sundays—youth sports tournaments, family activities, and entertainment options that didn't exist a generation ago.

Trust in religious institutions has eroded due to scandals, hypocrisy, and political polarization. Many churches have failed to connect faith to real-life needs, neglecting the poor and avoiding engagement with pressing social issues. Younger generations, particularly Gen Z and millennials, hunger for authentic faith that makes a tangible difference in their communities, but too often find churches stuck in patterns of the past, afraid to change.

Perhaps most tellingly, the average United Methodist invites someone to church once every 27 years. We've stopped evangelizing, stopped sharing the good news, stopped inviting others into community.

Interestingly, the data reveals unexpected patterns. While overall attendance is declining, younger Christians who do attend are actually coming more frequently—averaging 1.8 to 1.9 Sundays per month. There's a genuine spiritual hunger among young people seeking something authentic and meaningful.

Meanwhile, Gen X and Baby Boomers—generations that once formed the backbone of American churches—are attending less and less. The very people who grew up in church are now staying away, often showing up only when a church announces its closing, suddenly upset about losing something they stopped supporting years ago.

The challenge before us is clear: we must move beyond treating Christianity as a Sunday morning checkbox. Faith isn't a spectator sport. It's not about showing up occasionally when convenient and calling it good enough.

True faith formation happens through consistent engagement. It happens when we allow worship to shape us week after week. It happens when we're challenged by preaching, inspired by music, and transformed by gathering at Christ's table. It happens when we remember our baptism—not just as a past event, but as a daily identity that follows us to the grocery store, the golf course, the workplace, and everywhere in between.

We carry God's presence into the world. We are representatives of Christ in every interaction, every decision, every word that comes from our mouths. The question isn't whether we believe this intellectually, but whether we're living it out practically.

So what does active faith look like? It starts with prayer—not the camel knees of James perhaps, but a genuine commitment to communion with God. It continues with worship, approaching each service not as an obligation but as an opportunity to be recalibrated, inspired, and challenged.

Active faith engages spiritual gifts and abilities in service to others. It includes financial generosity, recognizing that churches exist because people give sacrificially. It involves witnessing—sharing faith with others, inviting them into community, letting them know you're praying for them, and offering tangible help in their struggles.

Active faith asks hard questions: Is there more to my Christianity than 45-60 minutes in church once or twice a month? Am I being formed and shaped by worship, or am I simply going through motions? Do I feel the need for weekly worship to stay grounded in my faith?

The decline in church participation isn't inevitable. It's a call to action—a challenge to rediscover what it means to be the church, not just attend church. It's an invitation to join faith with works, belief with action, identity with practice.

Churches must become places that engage real needs, tackle difficult issues, and empower people to make a difference in their communities. But equally important, individual Christians must commit to consistent participation, recognizing that sporadic attendance produces sporadic faith.

This isn't about guilt or obligation. It's about recognizing that spiritual formation requires consistency. It's about understanding that we need community, we need worship, we need to be reminded regularly of who we are and whose we are.

The question facing Christianity today isn't primarily theological—it's practical. Will we live out what we claim to believe? Will we be the church, or will we simply watch it fade away while claiming we still care?

The choice, ultimately, is ours.