Right now, I’m in California for college. I’m pursuing membership at a “Bible Church” (yes, that’s actually in the name). The pastor, at least one of the elders, and the worship leader are all professors at my college, which is very heavily YEC (The Master’s University; John MacArthur is the president). In fact, TMU is having a conference later today on the importance of the historical Adam.
I don’t make my opinions on origins a criterion for choosing a church. The reason I absolutely love the church that I’m at is because of their loving attitudes toward one another, the solid preaching, the heartfelt and Christ-centered worship, and the general atmosphere of a growing Christian community. It is a smaller church, which I prefer as well. These are people who are willing to do life with one another and love one another regardless.
So I don’t think it’s an issue that the eldership is YEC, or that the majority of the congregation is YEC. When it comes to preaching, they major on the majors and minor on the minors. The gospel is central, and that’s what matters.
In contrast, my church back home is vehemently YEC. The children’s ministry uses AiG materials all the time. Our VBS this last year was AiG’s “Ocean Commotion: Diving into the World of Noah’s Flood.” I was a crew leader, and let me tell you, it was one of the worst VBS programs I’d ever done. The strawmen were burning everywhere. I was just learning about all the evidence for an old earth at that time, but even I could point out the fallacies. Of course, I had to keep my mouth shut, which is fine. But it pains me to think that a number of those kids are going to have the rug pulled out from under them when they’re older and learn about these things. Having tied the gospel to the young earth view of creation, they’ll likely reject Christianity along with YEC. I was fortunate, in that I gladly accepted the evidence without jettisoning my faith.
Again, I just keep quiet most of the time because I don’t want to stir up dissension. My pastor back home rarely preaches on creation, because he usually preaches through one book of the Bible at a time, verse by verse. Nevertheless, I am saddened by the overt promotion of YEC materials. C’est la vie.
So, yes, in my experience, a great majority of evangelical churches (especially those with “Bible” in their name) are YEC. But this issue shouldn’t prevent you from joining a loving community of fellow believers who are willing to grow with you. The most important issues to look for in a church are the gospel, a high view of Scripture, and a love for one another and for the lost.
I hope that helps, somewhat.