A Model For The Growth Of The Evangelical Churches In Canada

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2010 in the subject Theology - Practical Theology, course: Practical Theology, language: English, abstract: Statistical evidence is clear, the Evangelical churches in North America are in decline. There are many reasons for this decline, not least of which is the reality that the North American Evangelical churches now exist in a post-Christendom milieu. A new ontology and and a new praxis are needed to address this new reality. However, the model is perhaps not new, but merely a return to the intended purpose for the church since its inception in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. This article explores a fourfold missional model for the North American church moving from liminality, through communitas and emergence to mission.

Many religious scholars have noted a decline in institutional forms of religion in Canada. With fewer Canadians regularly attending church or following denominational proscriptions, is institutionalized religion becoming a thing of the past? In A Culture of Faith, Sam Reimer and Michael Wilkinson argue that evangelical Protestants continue to show strong allegiance to their congregations. Through a national study, including interviews with over five hundred pastors and an analysis of financial resources, the authors argue that evangelical Protestant congregations demonstrate greater resiliency within a broader context of declining religiosity. According to their findings, weekly church attendance among evangelicals is substantially higher than the national average, church attendees say they get significant enjoyment from their religious groups, youth participation is high, and evangelicals are more likely to volunteer. While there may be signs of decline on the horizon, Canadian evangelical congregations seem to remain vital at a time when most other Christian traditions are waning. A clearly presented study of evangelical beliefs, organizations, leaders, and finances, A Culture of Faith reveals the current strength of evangelical Protestantism and its implications for the future of religion in Canada.

How can a church survive into the next millennium? That is the question Don Posterski and Gary Nelson asked themselves while researching and writing 'Future Faith Churches'. This book shows the way through to the 21st century by examining 14 examples of churches -- from Pentecostal to mainline liberal -- that are combining the strands of evangelism, social action, church growth, and strong leadership to create the fabric of their worshipping community.

An impressive list of specialists in the field examine the evangelical impulse in various denominations, from the mainstream Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, and United, through Baptists, Mennonites, and Lutherans, to the more sectish groups, including Holiness, Christian Mission Alliance, and the Pentecostals. Also included are comparisons between Canadian and American, British, and Australian evangelicalism and essays on evangelical networks, leaders and revivals, women, and evangelicalism in the 1990s. Growing out of a conference sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1995 at Queen's University, the essays elaborate a variety of important themes in the study of historical and contemporary evangelicalism and weave them together to provide an informative and challenging exploration of aspects of the evangelical experience in Canada. Contributors include Phyllis D. Airhart, Alvyn J. Austin, David W. Bebbington, Edith L. Blumhofer, Robert K. Burkinshaw, Sharon Anne Cook, Nancy Christie, P. Lorraine Coops, Duff Crerar, Michael Gauvreau, Daniel C. Goodwin, Andrew S. Grenville, Bruce L. Guenther, Bryan V. Hillis, D. Bruce Hindmarsh, Mark Hutchinson, William H. Katerberg, Kevin Kee, Ronald A.N. Kydd, Barry Mack, Mark A. Noll, David Plaxton, Darrel R. Reid, John G. Stackhouse, Jr, Marguerite Van Die, Richard W. Vaudry, and Marilyn Färdig Whiteley.

This monograph presents the context for congregations in Canada, across Catholic, Mainline and Conservative Protestant sectors. The monograph presents the voices of several dozen experts from across Canada and presents preliminary findings from consultations with over 100 denominational and local congregation leaders.

Many religious scholars have noted a decline in institutional forms of religion in Canada. With fewer Canadians regularly attending church or following denominational proscriptions, is institutionalized religion becoming a thing of the past? In A Culture of Faith, Sam Reimer and Michael Wilkinson argue that evangelical Protestants continue to show strong allegiance to their congregations. Through a national study, including interviews with over five hundred pastors and an analysis of financial resources, the authors argue that evangelical Protestant congregations demonstrate greater resiliency within a broader context of declining religiosity. According to their findings, weekly church attendance among evangelicals is substantially higher than the national average, church attendees say they get significant enjoyment from their religious groups, youth participation is high, and evangelicals are more likely to volunteer. While there may be signs of decline on the horizon, Canadian evangelical congregations seem to remain vital at a time when most other Christian traditions are waning. A clearly presented study of evangelical beliefs, organizations, leaders, and finances, A Culture of Faith reveals the current strength of evangelical Protestantism and its implications for the future of religion in Canada.

Canadians were once church-goers. During the post-war boom of the 1950s, Canadian churches were vibrant institutions, with attendance rates even higher than in the United States, but the following decade witnessed emptying pews. What happened? In Leaving Christianity Brian Clarke and Stuart Macdonald quantitatively map the nature and extent of Canadians’ disengagement with organized religion and assess the implications for Canadian society and its religious institutions. Drawing on a wide array of national and denominational statistics, they illustrate how the exodus that began with disaffected baby boomers and their parents has become so widespread that religiously unaffiliated Canadians are now the new majority. While the old mainstream Protestant churches have been the hardest hit, the Roman Catholic Church has also experienced a significant decline in numbers, especially in Quebec. Canada’s civil society has historically depended on church members for support, and a massive drift away from churches has profound implications for its future. Leaving Christianity documents the true extent of the decline, the timing of it, and the reasons for this major cultural shift.