It’s all relevant
Chapter 10 of The Church of the Perfect Storm was written by Mark Batterson. “God is calling the church out of the church and back into the middle of the marketplace” (page 110). Years ago church was the thing to do; it was the place to go. Not anymore. Generations today have other interests and many things to do and see.
According to George Barna, 61 percent of young adults who grew up going to church stopped going to church sometime during their 20’s (page 111). We learn from Dan Kimball why these adults stop going to church: They Like Jesus But Not The Church. Why don’t they like the church? One word: relevance. The church must be relevant to all people. If we ignore, imitate, and condemn culture, then people will do the same with the church. We must create culture. “We’re called to redeem” (page 114). Churches must be creative in how they minister to others. They must be creative in meeting locations, in activities and events, and even in their jobs. All Christ-followers are ministers, not just the paid church staff members. Every career should be a God-ordained calling: doctors, teachers, business people. We can build relationships and minister to others through our daily jobs, not just at the church building.
The author says, “There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet” (page 118). Be creative. It’s hard work to keep church alive, interesting, fresh and relevant, but we need to chase the lion of church creativity and keep it relevant to reach the generations of today and those who have stopped going to church.
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