Summit considers how American church will move forward
Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
March 2014 –Ministry leaders, authors and students attending the Future of the Church summit in the fall of 2013 took a look at the current status of the church in America, noting that only 20% of the population attends church in a typical week. Four out of five churches report no growth or decline, and most denominations lose numbers every year.
But the summit offered a hopeful perspective for the future of the church, suggesting that the church can experience an upward trend and grow even in a culture unfriendly to faith. However, the summit concluded that this may first require some accommodation to the Millennial culture, which is typified by disinterest in the status quo of tradition, search for authenticity and desire for dialogue.
The summit outlined some changes that may allow for successful church growth in the future such as:
▶ Less emphasis on denominational affiliation in the midst of increasingly anti-institutional attitudes; ▶ Demonstration of values having more importance than the personalities of big-name preachers; ▶ Outward ministry focus on those outside the church scene rather than an inward focus on the life of the church.
