Avoiding the "Niche Christianity" of the Reformed World, Part One

It’s clear to me that many fail to grasp just how small the American Reformed church is compared to both other denominations and the general population.

It’s also clear to me that many fail to grasp just how small the number of Reformed Christians who keep up with the various controversies in the Reformed world is—let alone the online controversies.

I believe it's accurate to say that the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the largest explicitly Reformed conservative denomination, with a total membership of approximately 350,000.

That’s big compared to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), which has about 33,000 members.

It’s even bigger than the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), which has about 13,000 members.

So, my present denomination, the CREC, is just under 4% the size of the PCA. However, the liberal Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) has a total membership of about 1,100,000.

So, the PCA is only 32% the size of the PCUSA.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has around 13,500,000 members.

Thus, the PCA is only about 3% the size of the SBC.

And, of course, the total population of the United States is around 332,000,000.

So, the SBC only represents about 4% of the total population of our country.

Point No. 1 - Most Reformed denominations represent a fraction of a fraction of the population.

Point No. 2 - Most Reformed folks don’t realize how strange and foreign their terminology, positions, and culture are to almost everyone outside their tiny pond.

Point No. 3 - Many Reformed churches and denominations stay small, not because they are super hardcore, but because they struggle to be relatable to and understood by the regular people outside their niche subculture.
Point No. 4 - The number of people conversing in the various controversies in the Reformed world seems much larger than it is because of the echo-chamber effect of internet algorithms. It’s tens of thousands at the most and, more likely, thousands of individuals. While the Overton Window has shifted, the amount it has shifted is exaggerated.

Point No. 5 - Once you understand this reality, you'll better grasp the intense territorialism and in-fighting you see in this world.

With all of this in mind, here are a few applications for pastors…

Allowing denominational or theological controversies, especially those of the social media variety, to overly shape the content of your sermons and the emphasis in your local church is unwise and ultimately destructive. Many important ecclesiastical debates happen online, and it's good for pastors to have at least some sense of what is being discussed. However, what may be relevant to you as a pastor isn’t necessarily helpful to them as everyday Christians.

And, as I said, it can even be destructive. It can train your people to be concerned about things that have little to do with their immediate God-given responsibilities. Focus is a limited resource. We must teach our people to spend it wisely by our example. And if we aren’t careful, we may communicate to our people that our heart is somewhere other than the needs of our own church. Why should they care about our church if we don’t?

Such niche preoccupations also can raise the cultural barrier to entry for potential new members. They’ll feel that they have to know not just the insider language but care about foreign issues that, to outsiders, seem pretty detached. They may think it’s a good church, but just not the church for them. 

The easy way to avoid “niche Christianity” is to be deeply involved in the lives of your people and your local community. More on that later.