Woodson Chapel is one of the largest and most active congregations in the brotherhood today. Truly we are blessed. However, this is an exception. Generally speaking, churches of Christ are in decline throughout America. Nashville, Tennessee, used to have the greatest concentration of New Testament Christians as any place on earth. They were ranked second in church preference. Baptist was number one and the church of Christ was number two. That is no longer the case. Church membership in this city has dropped dramatically. This is a great tragedy. A decline in membership and attendance means that fewer people are preparing for heaven. Also, it means a decline in resources to do the Lord's work. Phil Sanders, of the Concord Rd. church of Christ in Brentwood, after a detailed study, reports that it now takes ten churches to baptize one person! He calculates that from 1990-2000 there are 142 fewer congregations, 19,904 fewer members, and 39,227 fewer adherents. This means that we are losing more people by death than we are gaining by baptism. A few churches are growing, some have plateaued, and many are in decline. Some are closing their doors. Others have merged in an effort to stay afloat. Some report an increase in membership, but a closer examination reveals that much of this is the result of people moving into the community and placing membership who are already Christians. This is not real growth. It is swelling!

What's the problem? Basically, it is the absence of the spirit of evangelism. Our past growth was due to emphasis upon evangelism. But, it has now almost vanished. It has been taken out of the pulpit and out of almost everything else. It has disappeared from Sunday School and even personal work programs! Evangelism is out and "pop psychology" is in. That is, preaching what is popular. (By the way, I do not feel this to be a problem at Woodson.) However, "feel good" sermons are in demand and many want only to be entertained. They don't want to hear sin condemned. They don't want to be made to feel guilty. They want their ears "tickled". In short, they want to hear anything but the gospel. Sadly many elders and preachers go along with it.

If the church is to grow in the 21st century, we must get back on track. We must become evangelistic again. Back to the basics. Our focus must be outward, not inward. Or else, we will end up like the church at Ephesus who left their first love. (cf. Rev. 2:1-7) Evangelize or perish! That's the message.