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It appears the large denominational churches are closing while nondenominational churches are growing quickly. You can't put new wine in old wine-skins. https

• sudosteph 8y ago
  I'm not sure the trend will hold. This is all anecdotal, but new non-denominational churches in my area seem to start more frequently and then die more frequently than mainline establishments, it seems that since many of them rent instead of own their churches, and leadership isn't necessarily restricted to those with training and education in running a ministry, they're more likely to flounder long-term. Considering that the numbers are for total number congregations, I don't think that the discrepancy between worshippers is actually as harsh as its made out to be, and if it is, I think we'll actually see a trend back towards more community-oriented mainline or even catholicism as worshippers get disillusioned by the drama / lack of structure that a larger portion of non-denoms undeniably struggle with. But this is based on just infrequent personal experiences with like 4 different non-denoms in the suburban South, ranging from "conference room at 2 star airport hotel" to "megachurch stadium so full we watched the service in an overflow room in the same venue". In all cases the people who invited me did not stay very long as attendees. I may be dramatically underestimating their popularity/longevity in more rural spots though.