Pastor and founder of Turning Point radio ministry, Dr. David Jeremiah, says he's worried that the Church is forgetting its true purpose.

Jeremiah told the Christian Post that as churches face large declines in attendance too many have become "'obsessed' with remaining relevant."

"You’re a social organization and not a church"

“We’re not an entertainment service; we’re not here to see how close we can get to what the world does," Jeremiah says. "But there’s so much of the world in the Church and vice versa that we can’t tell a difference. We have to hold to the truth. We have to get nourished. If it’s not happening, you’re a social organization and not a church."

Jeremiah says that as churches and their leaders feel pressure to be successful churches get distracted by simply worrying about how many people they can get into their buildings. 

"Don’t worship at the attendance altar," Jeremiah says. "A lot of good things happen in churches when there aren't huge numbers but the pastor has prepared a good message and there’s worship. We get off on this thing that we have to be bigger than the guy down the street and how to get more people in the building. When you’re focused on that, you’ll never preach anything that’s controversial and you’ll always be trying to figure out how to get more people to come."

He says that oftentimes churches that are worried about numbers become afraid to preach the Gospel.

Jeremiah says that ironically churches that get worried on entertaining newcomers are actually driving Millenials and Gen-Z churchgoers away. "He cited research from Barna Group and the Cornerstone Knowledge Network which found that 67 percent of Millennials prefer a 'classic' church over a 'trendy' one."