Reasons for the migration of church members from one congregation to another

Abstract

This article 2 aims to determine the reasons why members of one congregation migrate to another, and to identify factors that play a role in this process. These are determined by the nature and functioning of congregations. This qualitative research involved members of three different congregations that had recently experienced a positive growth in membership numbers. The effects of secularisation and the Enlightenment, and their consequences at various levels, as well as the theories of McDonaldisation and Consumerism were taken into consideration to explain the migration of church members between congregations. The answer is not simple in the sense that two tendencies can be identified: 'push' factors that activate the tendency to move out of the previous congregation, and a drawing or 'pulling' tendency, representing those factors that attract people. It can be stated that the reasons for migration can, to a large extent, be traced to the nature and functioning of the congregation. In addition, clear tendencies can be identified in terms of 'push' and 'pull' factors. 1Read: "the changing of members' church affiliation". 2Part of this article is based on "Redes vir die migrasie van lidmate van een gemeente na 'n ander -'n praktiese teologiese studie by enkele Bloemfonteinse Christen gemeentes", an unpublished MTh dissertation, Bloemfontein: University of the Free State by I.M. Bredenkamp, 2014.

A traditional protestant church experiencing substantial membership decline: an organizational strength analysis and observations to attend or leave the institution

“…Secularization is defined as socialization not being dependent on religious affiliation (García-muñoz, Neuman and Tobol, 2013). A review of the research suggests that the overall secularization of the American population has had a significant impact on diminished participation in weekly services and Church membership (Bredencamp and Shoeman, 2015; Dyer, 2015). Churches have attempted to adopt and implement secular properties within their organizations; however, membership numbers continue to decline across the nation (McMullin, 2013).…”