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Your God Will Be My God
By Office | September 3, 2009
This fall we are starting on a serious study of what it means to be a follower of God. We introduced this in August with the question of what does it mean to say with Ruth of the Bible, “your God will be my God.”
We desperately need to learn this. Statistics are screaming at us in the church to wake up. Here is one article I ran across this week:
Thom Rainer the president of LifeWay Christian Resources did a survey recently and uncovered some disturbing statistics. The following are the percentages of those considering themselves Evangelical Christians by generation according to the survey:
19?? – 1946 65%
1947 – 1964 35%
1964 – 1976 15%
1977 – 1994 4%
1995 – Present ??%
George Barna’s research is equally as bleak regarding the next generation’s spiritual lives. My question is simple. Why? What’s going on that is creating this rapid decline in the percentage of those that consider themselves born again Christians? Is it the pluralistic nature of the US now? Is it the anemic condition of the western church at large? Is this the great falling away? Is there anything that we can do to stem the tide?
I believe that it’s time that the church come out from behind it’s four walls of protection and isolation and serve the people that Christ died for. Instead of fearing contamination, let us be those that influence this next generation. The church must give up the isolationist policies and the expectations that if we open the church doors, the world will come flooding in, to understand that Jesus went out to serve people in the “highways and byways”. He went to where they are and didn’t ask them to come to where he was. He met them at their point of need. Instead of trying to get people into the church, let’s try to get the church to go to the people. That’s how Jesus did it. It’s what the younger generation is looking for. A church that’s willing to get its hands dirty. A church that is there to serve, not to be served. The Coaches Corner.
Disturbing statistics. If these trends continue we are only one generation from extinction. Is there hope? I believe there is and it starts with one person, one church, one neighborhood, one community shining God’s light to a searching world. It can start here and with each of us. Are you ready? Let the journey begin!
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