Social media may be opening the door to Christianity for a growing number of young adults, but personal relationships are the "decisive factor" in leading many to church and to faith in Christ, according to a report commissioned by the Church of England.
"Understanding Young Adult Journeys to Faith in the Church of England" examines the stories of 30 young adults aged 18 to 30 who began attending Anglican churches for the first time during the five years following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research, carried out on behalf of the Church by Theos think tank, paints a picture of a generation that is spiritually open and searching for answers.
Also See: New report explores young adult journeys to faith in the Church of England; Understanding Young Adult Journeys to Faith [Downloadable]Is politics driving Gen Z away from church? New study raises questions
A new study has found that the close association between Christianity and US President Donald Trump has become a barrier to church attendance for many young adults, including a significant number who identify as Christians.
In 3 charts: White Christian nationalists’ love of ICE and concentration camps
As the empirical evidence for the threat white Christian nationalism presents to pluralistic democracy has mounted over the past decade, various insider defenders of conservative white Christianity — and even some mainstream white Christian theologians — have alleged the term is simply a cudgel. Those who qualify as Christian nationalists on public opinion surveys, they argue, only want to see a role for their faith in the public square.
According to these white Christian defenders, rather than capturing a genuine threat to democracy, Christian nationalism is a figment of the ungenerous imaginations of a woke secularist left.
The church's midlife crisis
Is your church having a bit of a midlife crisis? Is your church in the middle of a "What am I doing with my life?" existential dread? There is a minivan in my neighborhood with a bumper sticker that reads, "I'm not lost, I'm exploring." I suspect many of our churches would like to claim the same: kind of lost, not quite sure where we're going, and either in denial or completely oblivious.
How an Aging Church Can Reach Younger Families
Can an aging church grow younger? It can. The churches that pulled it off did not chase trends. They changed a handful of specific things, and those changes are worth copying.
Why People Leave the Church and How to Bring Them Back
Your neighbor used to sit a few rows back every Sunday. Now the car stays in the driveway. Ask why, and the reason is rarely the one you would guess. Most people who stop attending drifted during a busy season, moved to a new town, or got quietly worn down by something they saw. Here is the hopeful part. The research on people who have left points to a group that sits much closer to coming back than most churches assume.
Why Church Outreach Programs Fail: 7 Common Mistakes
A church can fill its calendar with outreach events and still remain inwardly focused. That is the hard truth behind why so many church outreach programs fail. The program changes the schedule, but it never changes the culture.
The Remarkably Ordinary Church
I was on vacation this past Sunday and didn't have to be anywhere, so I got to visit another church. We ended up attending a remarkably ordinary church.
I would hope that a part of a church's "ordinariness" is that is outward-looking and is evangelizing its community and making new disciples.Pastor Burnout: 13 Causes Churches Cannot Ignore
After speaking with pastors who burned out or came dangerously close, I noticed the same patterns appearing again and again.
Lay Preacher Training Informational Webinar
The role of lay preacher has been an important part of the church from its earliest days. As the clergy shortage grows and churches are under increased financial strain, the need for licensed lay preachers grows each year.
7 Tips for Getting More out of Sunday Sermons
What if we opened our Bibles each Sunday expecting a taste like honey and a treasure like gold (Deut. 32:47; Ps. 19:10)? What would it look like to get the most from our pastors’ sermons? Here are some small practices that can strengthen our grasp on the precious truths being handed to us in these moments.
We Have Forgotten How to Mourn
During my first year as a curate, I traveled to New Mexico to bury a step-cousin. Someone showed up with ladders and dropped them off, and it took me a moment to understand what was happening. The expectation was that we would help dig the grave.
I stood there holding a shovel, and something I had carried for years began to come loose. My grandmother once told me how she had helped dress her own niece for burial, washing her, clothing her, and laying her out for the family. I grew up hearing stories like this. As a child, I took them for granted. As I grew older and moved into the mainstream of American life, I am ashamed to say I found them embarrassing. Primitive, even. Something we should have outgrown. Standing in that graveyard with dirt on my hands, I realized my grandmother had not been clinging to an old custom. She had been doing the thing itself. The rest of us had lost it.
Six Ways to Shepherd Kids Through Loss
Each child has different and unique needs, and while this list is certainly not exhaustive, here are six ways I have worked to shepherd my own kids' hearts through pain and loss.
5 Steps to Create a Discipleship Plan
Could discipleship be both a foundational issue and the solution that solves some of the current needs churches face today?
How to Create a Discipleship Plan for an Established Church
The four steps in the DisciplesPath process can help any established church move forward with its unique discipleship plan.
My friend Peyton Jones has a new book. This one is called “Disciplology,” which is not really a word. But he has a habit if making up words. (See his “Church Plantology” book.)...
With his permission, I’m sharing 20 truths from the book that you might find helpful...
How to Create a Discipleship Plan for an Established Church
The four steps in the DisciplesPath process can help any established church move forward with its unique discipleship plan.
Also See: DisciplesPath20 Disciple-Making Truths Every Church Leader Should Know
My friend Peyton Jones has a new book. This one is called “Disciplology,” which is not really a word. But he has a habit if making up words. (See his “Church Plantology” book.)...
With his permission, I’m sharing 20 truths from the book that you might find helpful...
No comments:
Post a Comment