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Why Women Are Leaving the Church in Droves
According to a recent report on AOL.com, women are leaving the American Church in droves. Most of them belong to Gen-Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012. The older ones of that generation are now in their mid-twenties.
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What is driving them away? According to Mojica Rodriguez, quoted in the report, “Women are less inclined to be involved with churches that don’t want us speaking up, that don’t want us to be smart. We’re like the mules of the church – that’s what it feels like.” Rodriguez was born in Nicaragua but grew up in Miami. Her dad was a pastor, and she herself earned a master’s degree in divinity.
According to Gen-Z podcaster Caroline Joyous, the issue may be more about authenticity and identity. In an interview with Fox & Friends Weekend, she shared that the exodus reflects a hunger for something true and eternal that has been missing from the curated world they grew up in and that it’s not just women but her generation as a whole that is exiting “organized religion.” She says many of her peers hunger for something supernatural that the Church today doesn’t offer.
The Pew Research Center supports that notion. Not only do they see 54% of Gen-Z women leave the church compared to 56% of men, but they have also noted that over the past few decades, Americans have been disaffiliating from organized religion as a whole. In the 1990s, 90% of Americans stated that they belonged to a church. Today, that number has dropped to 63%.
Among the Gen-Z women, the reasons vary from churches’ views on the role of women to socio-political views. According to Ryan Burge, associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, young women are moving farther left politically.” As partisanship becomes the prime lens through which many Americans see the world, Burge said, it has infiltrated the church environment, leaving many young women disillusioned and caught between their politics and church expectations,” he said. As is the case with Mojica Rodríguez, some are upset about gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls. Others struggle with their church’s positions on reproductive and/or LGBTQ+ rights.
Marriage blogger Sheila Wray Gregoire considers the exodus of women a matter of grave concern to the Church. She noted that they are the largest demographic filling the pews, flocking to volunteer opportunities and getting their families involved in church. She adds that they are responsible for getting their families out of bed in time for church.
There’s More Than Meets the Eye
On the surface, this report sounds depressing. No one wants to hear about large percentages of people leaving the Church. But that may not be as unhealthy as it sounds. The research has shown that they are turning their backs on what they are calling “organized religion” – rigid rules, systems, and codes of conduct that have led the Church away from what the Bible says it should be: a Spirit-led, organic, loving, interdependent body of believers that makes Christ visible to the world. Their hunger for a supernatural relationship with God confirms that it may be absent from most churches. Millennials have preceded them in that notion. Their experience is that churches are judgmental, and they hunger for safe places to be authentic and experience a relationship with Christ without the rigidity of rules and expectations being forced on them.
Their observations are warning signs to the Church that it has veered too far toward “organized religion” – the very thing Jesus taught against when He preached the Kingdom of God and harshly criticized the heartless, rigid, and burdensome religiosity of Judaism.
Says Ryan Burge about these warning signs, “Right now, the ‘check engine’ light is coming on – not every time you start the car, but sometimes. And you don’t know whether it will fix itself or get worse.”
However, “check engine” lights are essential. If they don’t come on, you never know what’s wrong. The trend of Gen-Z women leaving the Church can help churches understand why and adjust – particularly by praying and seeking revival, which revitalizes the Church’s connection to the supernatural through the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. It’s an opportunity for prayerful self-evaluation we can’t afford to miss, especially since the exodus signifies an unsatisfied spiritual hunger. Satisfying that hunger by restoring the spiritual vitality of the Church and creating the place of truth, grace, and love that millennials and Gen Zers long for could unleash them into passionate and vital ministry.
A Matter for Urgent Prayer
Jesus is still the head of the Church, and the Holy Spirit is still sovereign in apportioning gifts and measures of faith. God is not powerless to do anything about church decline. On the contrary, we live in an age in which He is consolidating and purifying His Church. He is reaching the emerging generations through powerful revivals on college campuses all over the U.S. At the same time, He is exposing the shortcomings of His Church so we may repent and seek His power to work in our churches once more.
The dual work of reviving and exposing gives us direction on how to pray.
First, let us pray that God opens the eyes of pastors and leaders to empty religiosity that is hindering spiritual vitality and driving people away.
Secondly, let us pray that the Holy Spirit gives church leadership wisdom in creating a spiritually dynamic and loving climate for women without compromising biblical values.
Thirdly, let us pray for revival in the Church – not just on beaches and campuses – that restores it to its original design of being a body of believers deeply engaged in vital relationships with God and each other and making Christ visible to the world with its unity and supernatural power.
Father in heaven, thank You for Your love and power. We pray that the “check engine “light of so many women leaving the Church will lead to self-examination, repentance, and hunger for the supernatural reality of fellowship with You. By Your power, any trend can be reversed. May alarm lead to despair, and despair lead to hunger for You, especially among the emerging generations. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Share your prayers for the lost sheep leaving the church in the comments.
Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and pastored his first church in Amsterdam. He moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs at www.deeperlifeblog.com and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: Verne Ho on Unsplash.
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Heavenly Father, thank You that Your word never changes. You remind us that heaven and earth will pass away, but Your word will remain forever. Therefore, let us each examine our own lives and motives in the counsel of Your word and through the revelation by the Holy Spirit. We can all find reasons to leave or quit. Where are You asking us to serve? We are only equipped by Your Spirit. Are we obedient in what You have called us to do? Your plan and Your ways are higher than ours, please guide us in and through this. Bring unity, not discourse, the fruit of the Spirit should be evident. Do we seek rightness or righteousness? Your word proves true. Thank You Jesus for being the Good Shepherd and leading us in the paths of righteousness for Your name sake. Help us to forgive others, look how You have forgiven us. Where correction is needed, please guide us with wise counsel and teach us what to do. Heal the wounded and broken-hearted. We remember Your love never fails! Thank You LORD! In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
Eric Metaxas addresses this in his most recent books:
Letter to the American Church and Religionless Christianity.
Mario Murillo sees in his evangelistic tent meetings: people who want to know God loves them, He can forgive them and set them free from drugs and perversions.
Dutch Sheets and others have said we are entering an era of God releasing His signs, wonders, miracles, and healings to demonstrate He is real and He is working as He did in the Book of Acts Church. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I have seen women wounded by the thinking that women should shut up in church. One woman was rebuked harshly because during a Bible study, she raised her hand to share a thought. She hadn’t realized this church believed women should not speak in church… I have a tough hide after decades of being beaten up in churches. But I have been hurting because men have stated that I need to repent for having been a hospital chaplain. This most recent time, the devil smacked me hard with confusion; and I am still climbing away from that attack. One reason women leave the church is that too many churches believe the only role a woman should have is cooking or taking care of children in the nursery. PS I could use prayer, yes, because this attack hit me hard at a vulnerable time.
That’s men for ypu.
I’m so sorry that you’ve experienced such treatment. I have too. May you know the healing balm that Holy Spirit alone can administer to your wounds. May you have the grace to forgive, but the wisdom to avoid the type of congregations that continue to abuse, and do it in the name of misapplied and misinterpreted Scripture. Cling tightly to the Lord, and do not allow them to separate you from the One who knows you best, and loves you most. I believe He will lead you to other believers who will embrace you in loving fellowship, because I’m believing that for my husband and I as well.
Again, remind yourself of your very WISE OWN WORDS…
Biblical text is open to interpretation!
I don’t think we are lost sheep or even a stereotypical age or gender. People are leaving dead, legalistic church where the Holy Spirit is not allowed to move. I have been a pastor and leader in churches for over 40 years and recently left organized religion. Am I or my family lost sheep? Not at all. We minister to people, we love Jesus and seek Him and his purposes. What most churches are not doing today.
Because the worship the orange Messiah!
My prayer is for the church to wake up and get out! I left the church fourteen years ago, because of the heresy it teaches against the true Word of Elohim. Many I know of have come out of false religion and come back to the ancient path of the truth. I could never go back to an organization that is just that…an organization. It teaches a Lawless”Jesus”, a lawless gospel. Instead of praying for us to come back to the church, you should be praying for the church to come out of Babylon. YAHUSHA is coming back. He will gather those who have kept the commandments and walked in obedience to His Torah, and have been washed in His blood. What does he say in Matthew 7:22-23? “22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” The word here for lawlessness, is anomian and it means “without the Torah”. The church teaches that the Torah is done away with and we don’t have to keep it. But YAHUSHA said, think not that I have come to abolish the Torah, I have not come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. The word fulfill in the greek, means to fully teach, or to execute it. He said not one jot or tittle would pass from His Torah until heaven and earth pass away. And when the New Jerusalem comes down, it is prophesied that He will execute His Torah from Mount Tsyion! So if your Jesus or Paul according to the church, has done away with the Torah, then according to Deuteronomy 13, they are false prophets. I do not believe Paul or YAHUSHA to be a false prophet, but have been tainted by the lying pen of the scribe and the wolves in the church that have taught from them. I am not a Gen Zer either, I am 69 years old and spent 55 years of my life on the church pew being lied to. Go home and read your bible, find out the truth and then “Come out of her my people and take no part in her plagues.”
SATAN IS TRYING TO DO THE ORIGINALSIN AGAIN. “HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.” IF THE WOMEN LEAVE THE MEN WILL FOLLOW, EVEN IF THEY / WE KNOW IT’S WRONG. PLEASE PROTET US ALL FROM TEMPTATION AND SHOW US A CLEARPATH TO SALVATION THAT WE MAY ALL WALK IT. I THANK YOUGOD FORYOUR AMAZING MERCIES. I ASK IN JESUS’ NAME
AMEN
Men are and will always be reasonable for their own behavior!
Let us also get our eyes off of what the world is telling us, how it is telling us to think
, what to believe, etc
We must look to Jesus, knowing the end from the beginning, that His goal is a bride without spot or b wrinkle, standing in complete unity as one in Him.
People, male or female, who leave the institutional ‘church’, to find authentic relationship with the Lord and/or with other believers are not necessarily leaving the true ‘church’. They are sometimes simply rejecting the traditional way that ‘church’ is defined and practiced. The body of Christ consists of people, under the headship of Yeshua – it is not an organization, it is not a building, it is not a religion, it is not a denomination or non-denomination, it is not a service you attend. I simply pray that those who have left the institution seek God diligently and faithfully, and that it is not just a sign of rebellion against Him or against His Word. Perhaps the Lord is showing us how to return to His way of relating to one another and to Him – how to be the church.
Truly is ot any wonder why women are leaving the so called church?! Many are do woke and blend into the culture that you can tell little difference anymore. I can say much more but I am grateful for steadfast pastors who only preach what is Biblical and are open to Holy Spirit and are willing to be on the front lines speaking out against the anti Biblical culture today. May God protect them and open doors for those leaving to find Jesus personally and develop a close relationship with our Lord and Savior.
Dear God we are living in a time when woman once again is enticed by the “forbidden apple.” The devil knows the importance behind “a Godly Woman, Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister and Nurturer. As Women we have a choice to Stand with the Full Armor of God as an intercessor for our innocent babies, children, families and communities or we can choose self obsessed consumption destroying our family unit. Holy Spirit open our eyes. Amen
I left the CLERGY RESPONE TEAM CHURCH A LONG TIME AGO. U SHOULD BE ASHAMED TP EVEN POST ANYTHING. IT’S EMPTY NOT FROM THE HEART. PHONIE BOLOGNA. PROVE IT! I WAS THROWN AWAY LIKE A PIECE OF TRASH MANY TIMES .
Pattie I am so sorry you feel thrown away by your church. No one should go through such pain. We do not understand many hurtful things that happen to us during our lives. It is hard to believe anyone would want to hurt us especially in our safe havens like church, home any place presumed safe and nurturing. God has blessed each of us with the gift of choice. Each of us have a choice, every moment, when made makes a ripple touching many innocent lives. When we as flawed humans focus our eyes off of God we fall every time and cause a ripple in others lives. You are an amazing gift from God and no one is like you. God believes in you and so do I. The Holy Spirit has today shown me we are all important to Him, we all have a soul, we are all under the devils attack. Patti I will pray for healing and grace to sweep over you like a warm blanket today. You Are A Child Of God And He Loves You and so do I. Amen
I agree 100%
I left the CLERGY RESPONE TEAM CHURCH A LONG TIME AGO. U SHOULD BE ASHAMED TP EVEN POST ANYTHING. IT’S EMPTY NOT FROM THE HEART. PHONIE BOLOGNA. PROVE IT!
Pattie
You are hurting, wounded by the past. Only Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted, not the church or anyone in it. Look to Him alone to heal you. Man will disappoint. I will pray for you.
Lord, please let the church in America break free of its sexism and political idolatry. May we repent and return to our first love. May our for one another be real and true and not just lip service. May we partner with You as you use Your daughters as You see fit. Please forgive us for putting limits on You and who You could use. Please forgive us misusing and abusing Your daughters in Jesus’ name.
IT’S ONLY LIP SERVICE PROVE IT IFA.
Q IS WHAT THEY KNOW.
The body of Christ, the church needs to wake up and see how God used women in the early church days in the Bible and all throughout the local times and old testament women played significant role. body of Christ needs men and women come together as one as God created us to be because one without the other is only half of a church we are one in Jesus.
I’ve praying for our church. Thay do not believe that speaking in tongues or prophets are for today. I recently sent am email pertaining to the bible and a sermon that our pastor decided to input his own wording into. And he told us straight up that he did. He corrected me on the gifts of the Spirit (rightly so. I misspoke a scripture and did not respond to why he changed the words. If it wasn’t for my son in law who we are helping to stay off drugs and has recently been attending church with us and our 7 year old granddaughter, we would have left immediately. Now our Pastor refuses to speak about the upcoming election. Scary because if we wear anything political the people who volunteer at the church that support the same candidate that we do can only whisper that they like our shirt/hats. They are not allowed to speak or wear anything political.
(Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.)
Why we haven’t left yet? As I type this the decision is made. Time to move. I’ll continue to pray for this church and the pastor’s.
I believe this is a big problem in the USA today. Pray for us to find a five fold ministry that truly follows the Word of GOD. Amen and Amen!
This article seems to be explaining what scripture says will happen in the last days: there will be a “great falling away from GOD!” “the reasons vary from churches’ views on the role of women to socio-political views.” “As is the case with Mojica Rodríguez, some are upset about gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls.” We all do understand that the church of JESUS CHRIST is governed by the Bible alone! Right? The church is not the world! GOD is not concerned about social issues, but that we obey HIS WORD! There is nothing new under the sun! These same issues have plagued the church of JESUS CHRIST since GOD established it! So, gen z’ers, or others concerned with “social and/or women’s and “gender” issues regarding the church of JESUS CHRIST,” please examine the scriptures daily to see if you are “still in the faith!” GOD is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Chastity in the church? Wow! Folks, read and be governed by the Bible; or go your own worldly way and wind up in hell! GOD will not be mocked, whatever a man or woman sows, you shall also reap! Please examine you scriptures daily to make sure you are saved from hell and are following the True and Living SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST! Amen!
All high & mighty!
Repent!