Opportunity and urgency… but also wisdom

Several recent statistics, as well as trends, paint a sobering but also exciting picture. It’s an interesting combination. The challenge is for us to face reality, but not lack faith thereby, and also not be Chicken Littles who cannot see the encouraging developments too.

For instance, a recent Barna survey, shared with the team here at College Church by our Director of Communication, essentially says that across all generations in America (from Boomers to Gen Z), there is a still a very high positive association with all things spiritual, Jesus, and the Bible. In every cohort there is an above 70% reporting that Americans want to know more about Jesus and study the Bible. This is encouraging!

On the other hand, it is also gleaned from the same survey that across all generations of Americans, positive association with the church has dipped significantly. What does this mean? For us, it means we need to think creatively about using our church space to help people outside the church connect the dots between their desire for a transcendent encounter with God, and the physical church buildings down the street. Creativity, and clarity, are needed.