Decline of the GARB, Is IFB next

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sword

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General Association of Regular Baptists (GARB) churches were very common when I was a kid. I had a number of relatives & friends who attended this type of church. They were very conservitive churches who stressed seperation & standards. Today I only know of 2 GARB church in our area & I know of no one who attend there.

What caused the decline in GARB membership & can we expect the same for the IFB?

General Association of Regular Baptists Membership Data
Year Churches Members U.S. Pop.
1950 - 445 93,000     152 mil.
1960 - 934 136,292     180 mil.
1970 - 1,361 200,000     205 mil.
1980 - 1,557 244,000     227 mil.
1990 - 1,574 168,000     249 mil.
2000 - 1,417 130,000     282 mil.
2010 1,308 122,000     309 mil.
 
Our area is something of a cultural anomaly. Due to the large Dutch influence of the last century we have a significant number of reformed churches. Right behind those would be the GARBC and IFCA churches (both emerging at the same basic time for the same basic reasons). Then Catholics. IFB churches are way down the line.

As to the OP I know of a couple of GARBC churches that have dropped their affiliation (mine hasn't). I do not know of any that have been asked to remove themselves for reasons of doctrine or practice (mine included).

We use RBP materials as well as what is available in the marketplace. We have a blended worship using old and new music. While we have drums and guitars ours would be better described as an ensemble rather than a band. The piano is still the center piece of the music with the other instruments in support. Our pastors do not wear suit and tie. On any given Sunday most of the bible versions will be present with someone. Most of our messages are preached out of the NIV (though I personally prefer the NKJV). We recently reorganized to an elder led governance structure. We support (or have supported) missionaries across some of the old lines of demarcation (including New Tribes, YFC and MAF). Our pastors are actively involved with some of the churches in the community (though none of our pastors are members of the ministerial association) and partner when and where appropriate. We participate in a round robin prayer group (our church hosts this week) with several other evangelical churches. We have people involved with the local food pantry and clothes closet. We enjoy a good relationship with city hall, the local schools and the chamber of commerce. We do small groups and recently dropped our evening service to accommodate the growth we are seeing through small groups. Our AM service is packed out and we are looking short term at a CCTV solution in our fellowship area for extra seating. We have a $200k renovation project in progress and a structural addition that we hope to have going by the end of the summer.

So there is a picture of the current world of GARBC where I live. And we have not heard word one from Schaumburg that we are doing it wrong or that they want us to drop our affiliation.

God is blessing!
 
Hmm. I went to a GARBC church when I was 12, and was saved there. Then we moved away, and I haven't been to one since.

I spent most of my teens as a confused seeker, searching for truth and exploring different paths. I found my way (or was led) back into the Christian fold when I was 21. Lao Tzu, Alan Watts, C.S. Lewis and one Open Bible home church pastor I met in college were the main human influences God used in bringing me back. Also various Christian apologists, most of whose names I can't remember. And since then, I have always felt Anglican at heart, no matter which church I was with.

Anyway, that first GARBC church taught me the basics of the faith without messing me up in the way that many have complained about fundamentalist churches doing to them, so I remain grateful to it and remember it as being a good church.

 
Went to a GARB church growing up in Wisconsin, at one point it changed to IFB. My church's origin was a German Baptist. But it has always run the same whether GARB or IFB
 
sword said:
General Association of Regular Baptists (GARB) churches were very common when I was a kid. I had a number of relatives & friends who attended this type of church. They were very conservitive churches who stressed seperation & standards. Today I only know of 2 GARB church in our area & I know of no one who attend there.

What caused the decline in GARB membership & can we expect the same for the IFB?

General Association of Regular Baptists Membership Data
Year Churches Members U.S. Pop.
1950 - 445 93,000     152 mil.
1960 - 934 136,292     180 mil.
1970 - 1,361 200,000     205 mil.
1980 - 1,557 244,000     227 mil.
1990 - 1,574 168,000     249 mil.
2000 - 1,417 130,000     282 mil.
2010 1,308 122,000     309 mil.
Click to expand...
A decline of secular organizations posing as a church...even going so far as to take on the duties of the local church? Praise God for their decline !
 
I attended a GARB church in Northwest Indiana for a time in the 1980s. My experience was generally positive.

Why the GARB is experiencing decline, I'm not sure. My analysis would be this though.

As I understand it, for a time prior to the 1980s, the Southern Baptists were at risk of sliding towards the mainline theologically. In this type of theological environment, there was likely a clear distinction between a GARB church and a Southern Baptist alternative. And there was likely a good reason to establish a GARB church to offer such an alternative. When in the early 1980s though Southern Baptists conservatives gained authority in the convention, the distinction between a GARB church and its evangelical Southern Baptist alternative diminished somewhat.

So, it's not that there's anything wrong with the GARB, it's just that a person seeking out a Baptist church might not see a compelling reason to select a GARB church over a Southern Baptist church, when either one seems like a sound choice.
 
groupie said:
Izdaari said:
Lao Tzu
Click to expand...

Just curious. Who is that?
Click to expand...

Founder of philosophical Taoism (others made a religion of it later), author of the Tao Te Ching. He lived in probably the 2nd century BC.
So the Tao Te Ching would be ancient, pre-Christian Chinese philosophy.
My favorite edition of it is the Gia Fu Feng/Jane English translation.

In it I found some pieces of the cosmic jigsaw puzzle, some good insights into how God ordered the universe.
That led me, like stepping stones across a river, to a place where I could accept Christianity as being possibly true.
 
That's I thought, but then was wondering if there was a Baptist preacher with the same name LOL
 
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