Christianity in Decline?

The Gospel Coalition puts out some great material. I recently came across an article there by Joe Carter called "Evangelicalism Continues to Grow While Christianity in America Declines". I had fallen for the narrative that "evangelicalism—especially conservative forms of the movement—has been rapidly declining." ...Until I read this piece. Carter writes, "A new survey by the Pew Research Center reveals that certain sectors of Christianity—particularly Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant churches—continue to shrink while the number of evangelicals in America is growing." That is certainly surprising because I constantly hear how much the general culture dislikes Christians. This news is encouraging for those who would take a stand for Christ and honor Him with our life. 

We do not stand or fall based on survey numbers or market research. However, this news should encourage church leaders to continue taking a stand for those things which mark evangelicalism. An evangelical is, as the author of "What is an Evangelical Christian?" puts it, "a believer in Jesus Christ who is faithful in sharing and promoting the good news." They generally are characterized by their belief in "the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith alone." The promotion of these values and beliefs, especially the Gospel, spreads the truth of Christ to others in the United States. As others hear the Gospel, they come to faith in Christ. I am encouraged to know that the growth of evangelicalism is most likely due to the faithfulness of the American church in its proclamation of the Gospel. May the Church continue to hold fast to the Gospel and be committed to its proclamation. It may not be long until evangelicalism starts to decline, but as long as we keep sharing the Gospel, I believe that the numbers will continue to grow.