Like most people, I’ve read all of the studies and surveys that predict the eventual demise of religion – especially Christianity. The numbers are easy for anyone to trace. Fewer and fewer people are attending religious services. More and more people describe themselves as being “unaffiliated” – what we now call “the nones.” Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Alpha aren’t engaging the faith and as a result, more and more churches are becoming older on average and eventually, closing.
Given these numbers and other depressing data points, why am I optimistic? Because our world is asking questions only Jesus can answer. Questions about the meaning and purpose of life – those are Jesus questions. Questions about what matters in life and what makes life worth living in the first place – all of these and every question like them are Jesus questions.
The second reason I’m excited about the future is that responding to these questions in meaningful and transformative ways is a very simple process. We can do it anywhere with anybody. We can do it in coffee shops and kitchen tables, conference rooms and picnic tables in local parks. We can do it in homes of every size and college dorm rooms. Wherever two or three people have gathered to study the teachings and life of Jesus, the gospel will happen there.
This calls us back to a simpler and more focused process of evangelism and discipleship. It begins when one person becomes serious about following Jesus and then, in the joy of their discovery of all that Jesus is, begins to share what they know about Jesus with their friends. This is how the church has worked from the very beginning. This is how the church works throughout the world. When we study those places where Christianity is exploding (and yes, there are those places) this is how we see Christianity working.
This requires two things in our North American churches. First, we have to move our congregations from church members to disciples of Christ. We have to teach, train and encourage members of our congregations to become serious and committed followers of Jesus Christ. This means becoming serious about study – not just reading – but study of the Scriptures. This means meeting in small groups with other believers who are striving to understand the richness of Jesus’ teachings and how to apply them to their lives. And, this one is important, discovering an eagerness to share this news with their friends.
Second, churches need to cut back on programs to allow their people to be more present in their own homes and in their own communities. Once, a church I led did a time study on what we expected from our church members. We found out we were the most anti-family organization in town. We wanted children at church at one time, students there at another time, and their parents at still another time. When did we want our parents to make disciples of their children? We never gave them any time to do that.
In short, local churches need to DO LESS so our people can BE MORE.
