For the first time ever in history, American women are leaving the church faster than men. Millions have left over the last decade, and that was even before the pandemic. Research shows they have left church but they still value their relationship with God. What’s going on?

Ericka Andersen joins us on today’s episode of All Things to discuss this issue, as well as Reasons to Return: Why Women Need the Church and the Church Needs Women—as her new book is titled.

Ericka and I ponder the reasons women have left the church. We live in an increasingly post-Christian society, and the religion of self-help is on the rise. Ericka says secular self-help gurus offer a replacement for religion—but it’s not sustainable. She thinks our attraction to self-help is going to soon run its course, as people are realizing they need more than what’s inside of them to get by.

Ericka says church is often misunderstood. She says church is relationships, friendships, a safety net, where you feel like you have people on your team, and where we learn about God. She says, “When we get together with others we see a part of God that we cannot see ourselves.” Further, “It is the church that God uses to save people—it’s through the witness of the church that people are drawn to Jesus.”

We also tackle church hurt and religious trauma. And we talk through different scenarios for conversing with our friends who’ve left. Ericka helps us imagine how we might invite a friend back to church who has left over politics or shame or sheer busyness. She says the number one reason people return to church is because someone invites them. Ericka exhorts us, “Be someone’s introduction to to Jesus by being there for them without expecting anything in return.”

One bonus element of this episode is when Ericka talks about her journey to sobriety—her transparency is such a gift!

Recommendations from this episode:

Reasons to Return: Why Women Need the Church and the Church Needs Womenby Ericka Andersen

Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods by Jonathan Brooks and Sho Baraka

Welcome: Love Your Church by Making Space for Everyone by Jen Oshman

Keep in touch with Ericka at https://erickaandersen.com.