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Thoughts From Thom Shultz

Dear Friends,

In light of current cultural trends, have you wondered what the church in America will look like in the future? This article by Thom Shultz, entitled “Five Ways the Church Will Change” (written a few years back) was, and still is by all estimations, very accurate. In fact, at the end of his article I include very recent (2022) findings done by Barna Research which come to the same conclusion. 


If you love Jesus and His church (and I’m not talking so much about the trappings that go along with it, like it’s historic buildings, cumbersome organizational structures, etc.) and you wonder how to reach out wisely to unbelievers so that they may come to know him, Shultz offers wise advice by giving us five ways the church will change and needs to change. Better yet, five ways the church needs to return to the way it originally functioned in its earliest days. A return to what we could call a more biblical model that often got overshadowed or lost in the heyday of the church’s “success.” Enjoy.

Five Ways the Church Will Change
Is the American church fading away? Will the losses in membership and attendance lead to a marginalized church presence such as that in present-day Europe? What will the American church look like in ten years? Church leaders, denominational executives, and religion researchers gathered in Colorado recently to examine the church’s health and prognosis... After evaluating current trends, Summit members predicted a number of likely scenarios for the American church in the next ten years: 



1. Emphasis on relationships. Whereas the church and congregational worship today are largely spectator-oriented, the new coming trend will prioritize spiritual growth through personal relationships.

2. Return to Jesus. The current church is preoccupied with the “ABCs”—attendance, buildings and cash. A Summit pastor said, “We need to deal with the idols of the church.” The coming church will highly focus its mission, goals, measurements, and message on Jesus.

3. Community focus. The church of tomorrow will be much more engaged in addressing the needs in the community. The church will be known more for its members’ relational acts of compassion outside of church walls, taking ministry out rather than waiting for outsiders to come in and sit.

4. Conversationally oriented. The current church relies primarily on one-way messaging—from the preacher/teacher at the microphone. The new church will rely more on person-to-person conversation, sharing messages of God’s love with one another. Churches will begin to trade pews for conversation tables.


5. Rise of the laity. Shrinking resources will trigger fewer paid ministry positions—and more reliance on unpaid ministry work. The concept of “the priesthood of all believers” will re-emerge.

I also add this note I received from Ron Hamilton, “I had the opportunity to attend the 'Jesus Now Summit' in Dallas, Texas in December 2022. This summit was hosted by the Barna Group...[who] shared some intriguing research data. The results of the study showed some encouraging news that there is a rising spiritual openness in our nation... A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, three out of four (74%) say they want to grow spiritually. Additionally, the same proportion (77%) say they believe in a higher power. Nearly half (44%) say they are more open to God today than before the pandemic. Though the trajectory of Christian commitment in the U.S. has been on a downward slide over the last four decades and is in need of urgent interventions, this new data gives Christian leaders cause for hope. Though religious affiliation and church attendance continue to decline, spiritual openness and curiosity are on the rise. The challenge facing the Church and parachurch ministries is whether they are ready and able to meet the spiritually open—where they are, as they are.”



I will leave it at that. A reason for hope. A reason for much prayer. A call for God’s people to go back to their roots and take a look at the book of Acts, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, venture out to embrace new (actually, very old!) ways of doing things.

Keeping Our Eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, Pastor Jeff

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