SOUTHEAST MISSOURI LEADS NATION IN CHURCH ATTENDANCE; SPIRITUAL HEALTH IMPORTANT TO MANY CAPE GIRARDEAU RESIDENTS

While less than half of Americans attended church last week, in Southeast Missouri, those numbers could be slightly higher.

Church attendance in the area generally peaks higher than the national averages.

Church attendance in the "Bible Belt," which includes Missouri, reached 44 percent, with almost equal attendance of Catholics and Protestants.

Studies by Barna Research Group released in 1996 show that about 40 percent of Americans attend church on a typical weekend, and those numbers continue to decline.

Yet, Cape Girardeau has a religious community rich with activity, where church parking lots are full most Sundays and throughout the week and where some sanctuaries overflow with congregants.

In the past decade, the city has seen a building boom in its religious community. Churches, like Cape Bible Chapel, have expanded and others like La Croix United Methodist Church, Lynwood Baptist Church and Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church have built along Lexington Avenue.

Tracking the trends

The exact number of churches varies, but there were at least 60 congregations gathering for worship or weekly Bible study last year.

There isn't an agency or organization that tracks church growth in the area, but a survey compiled by the Southeast Missourian and students at Southeast Missouri State University showed 61 churches, with 50 of them having a denominational affiliation. There are 11 nondenominational churches in the city.

The trend nationally, however, is to move away from denominational labels and focus more on worship styles, said Dr. Andy Pratt, a campus minister at the Baptist Student Center who teaches religion courses at Southeast.

"There is less interest in a denominational church," he said.

Today the emphasis is being put on the style of the church, Pratt said.

Cape Girardeau hasn't really seen many new churches in the past decades, but established churches moving to newer, larger locations or new congregations that have split or developed from older churches in the community.

Changing worship styles

"When things are stable it's difficult for a new church to break in," Pratt said, "and we are pretty stable right now. The changes come from within as we look at worship styles."

Cape Girardeau's religious community doesn't reflect a melting pot of ethnicity and nationalities. It does show that the predominant belief is Protestant, a trend also depicted at the national level. Protestants outnumber Catholics by a 2-to-1 ratio.

"Protestantism is experiencing a change in worship style," Pratt said. "Churches are more defined by their style than by their denominational label."

There is no set number of churches that a community can support, he added. As new churches move into storefronts, seek to build and establish themselves in the community, the questions lurk -- "Are they going to be big and vibrant and long-lasting?" Pratt asked. "There will always be new ones but not all of them are going to make it."

As the population demographic changes, younger people are less compelled to attend a church because they see it as an institution, he said.

"People are less interested in being part of an institution but want spirituality," he said.

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Get more information on barna Research Group's studies at this Internet site:

*http://216.87.179.136/cgibin/home.asp, a site provided by Barna Research Group.