"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..." 2 Thess 2:3 

One if the "sign of the times" is that there will be a falling away from the church in the last days. The Apostle Paul said that this would happen and I personally believe that it is happening in our generation.
 
In my years of intense study of Old Baptist church history, I have come to the following conclusion: The Old Baptist Church prospered from 1832 until the 1920's...churches were planted across the country, church meetings were well attended, young men were ordained to the ministry and there was a plethora of baptisms in the churches. Then came the 1920's and the growth completely leveled off. For 30 years or so, we held our own until the late 1950's when we began to decline. Since the early 1960's, we have declined in numbers at least 40% across the board. Why is this???

Moral and virtue standards have seriously declined in our nation....the home and family was attacked, conquered and redefined; and by and large, our ministers did not address these issues.

What specifically brought on this moral decline?
1. Drugs and Alcohol -- You become addicted and do what you must to satisfy it.
   
   Why do people get involved in this horrible lifestyle?
            a. Peer Pressure.
            b. A craving to experience "excitement" on their lives.
            c. A desire to escape reality.
 
2. Television -- Brings immorality into our homes. TV lowers our once high standards, dulls our senses and sears our consciences.
 
3. Materialism -- To be able to live on a higher financial standard, many women have left the home in order to bring in a second paycheck. The children are sent to babysitters/daycare. Teachers and babysitters have become surrogate parents. This has hurt so many families.
 
I do not believe that every single Primitive Baptist church is declining, but we are certainly seeing a decline in general. I have noticed that some of our churches are prospering, but most are going down and a few are merely holding their own. One of the dangers we are facing, is to jump to unscriptural means so to halt the decline. This is a grave mistake. I personally feel that if we, especially the ministry, will hold on to true faith and practice, preach the whole counsel of God, and pray without ceasing; it could be that the Lord will bless us and grant us revival in the "midst of the years."  May the Lord grant!

DM