In order to build a healthy church that is relevant to the culture around us, it is critical that we take a hard look at what the culture has to say about their experience with Christianity. We live in a city that is familiar with the church culture. There are many denominations represented here and it's not uncommon for people to claim a church as their "church home" even if they attend only once or twice a year. We are discovering, however, that there are groups of people that are disconnected with the current church culture here. Many of these people are Christ followers that just can't seem to settle into a body of believers. There are also groups of people in our city that are hungry for a church that is relevant to their lives and their views of what a church should value. It's safe to say that this current trend is popular in many of our cities.
We then venture over to the people in our culture who have either been burned by the church or see the church as completely irrelevant to their lives. So the question we find ourselves asking is, "How do you connect the Christ followers who are wanting more in terms of their church experience to the group of people who are skeptical of Christianity?"
David Kinnaman, the president of The Barna group, has conducted an extensive study with 16-29 year olds on their view of Christianity. In this study, only 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and early twenties said they have a "good impression" of Christianity. And only 3% of this group showed a favorable view towards evangelicals.
This study also discovered the following perceptions that non-Christians have about Christianity:
87% say we are judgmental, 85% think we are hypocritical, 78% say that we are old-fashioned, while 75% believe we are too involved in politics.
If these statistics don't open our eyes, the following should:
Young churchgoers were asked to give their perceptions of Christianity, and over half of them perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political. And 1/3 say it's old-fashioned and out of touch with reality.
A common theme that was expressed during this study was that "Christianity no longer looks like Jesus in today's culture."
After a three-year study was conducted, researchers realized that the perceptions shared by non-Christians and young Christians alike were not based on misinformation or popular views. The perceptions towards Christianity were more often centered around experiences and personal interactions with Christians.
As leaders, this study should greatly disturb us. As church planters, this study gives us great insight into growing a church that is relevant to our culture. As lead pastors of established churches, this study should give us a new resolve to take an honest look at the perceptions our churches are evoking among young people in our city.
This culture is looking for change, they are desperate for relevancy and they are hungry to be a part of something that is making a difference in their community. It's interesting that in this study conducted by The Barna group, the negative perceptions shared were not in regards to people's view of Christ. Their issue isn't with Christ - their issue is with those claiming to have been transformed by Christ.
If you are planting a church, you are no doubt asking yourself some of the same questions we are. "How do we create a church culture that is authentic to our city's culture?" "How do we tear down the walls of skepticism in our city and present ourselves as relevant and real?" "How do we cast vision for our church and build a collective purpose with our launch team?"
It starts with the vision of our churches. Andy Stanley has been quoted as saying, "Vision leaks." This is true for established churches and church plants alike. Our goal is to cast our vision in such a clear and concise way that our people could tell someone in one sentence, without hesitation, what Northpoint's vision is. The vision of Northpoint is to connect people to Christ and to be devoted to meeting the needs of our community with passion and love.
As church planters, it is vital for us to make our vision very clear from the very beginning. Proverbs 29:18 sums it up well, "If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed." (The Message)
If walls of skepticism are going to be torn down, it must begin with us. It is going to take action on our part. If we are going to change the perception that we are judgmental and hypocritical, it is going to be through rolling up our sleeves and proving that we are concerned with what's happening in the lives of those in our community. It's going to be through opening our doors to people that aren't "like" us. Skepticism diminishes when we serve with no strings attached. Taking action and putting our walk where our talk is quiets the notion of hypocrisy.
We believe God is creating a movement in our community through Northpoint and that movement is to serve anywhere the opportunity arises. We know that at first the skepticism is going to be high. People will question our intentions and analyze our authenticity. We also believe that it is our job as Christ followers to earn the trust of our community. If perceptions are ever going to change, it is going to have to be intentional on our part.
Can you just imagine what would happen if it became the resolve of every church to change the perception of Christianity in their communities? When people begin to connect together through serving and meeting needs, a movement ignites. Walls are torn down and perceptions are changed when we offer ourselves to others with no strings attached. Our prayer is that today we will have the courage as leaders to make the first bold move towards building a bridge with our brothers and sisters who desperately need to see Jesus with skin on.
Be encouraged today!
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