THE COMMUNAL CHALLENGE OF BEING A CHURCH AND THE SEARCH FOR A REVERSAL OF THE ECCLESIAL EXODUS

The large contingent of those who declare themselves to be evangelicals without regularly attending a church - because they feel deprived of the attention of their pastors, or because they manifest intolerance of institutional dogmas, or because they are unwilling to face the communal challenge of being a church - has become a phenomenon, especially since the last decades. On the other hand, the value that the Bible attributes to the church as the community of believers in which they are spiritually edified and where the name of God is worshiped, cannot be questioned or ignored, despite the reality of the ecclesial exodus. It is urgent to seek the reversal of this situation along the path of dialogue, starting from the initiative of ecclesial leaders, and this should be reciprocated by those who have given up their religious membership.