It’s probably been a little over a decade ago now, but I can still remember a man on Christian radio talking about how America was a post-Christian nation. The comment rubbed a lot of Christians the wrong way, but even then, I could understand the sentiment. Any “Christian” country is always a generation away from becoming post-Christian. Europe, particularly England, has served the United States for many years now as an example of what happens when the transition is made.
In doing so, church planters and missionaries to England provide American pastors a template to follow as pastors attempt to reach the next generation on American soil. Perhaps you are one that still doesn’t like that term post-Christian. No problem-let’s just substitute the words “biblically illiterate.” To reach this biblically illiterate generation, you’re going to have to start playing the long game. What I mean by the long game is that it is not only going to take longer for Gen Z to accept Christ into their lives, it is also going to take longer for Gen Z to visit your physical church. That phenomenon was taking place pre-Covid and those who have been working with the next generation for a while can verify the fact.
Playing the long game may or may not be your cup of tea. However, an afternoon with a cuppa (that’s how they say it in England) of tea in one hand and a scone or a crumpet in the other hand is going to require a sit-down occasion with some conversation tossed in. Evangelists in America have long promoted the value of having spiritual conversations with others while at Starbucks. It just happens to be that we prefer coffee and cinnamon rolls on this side of the ocean.
The point is someone is more likely to visit your physical church if they have first attended your neighborhood small group or created an ongoing relationship with you through frequent visits, encounters, and stops at Starbucks. I think the Starbucks dining table is where the sketched diagram of the gospel on a napkin became popular. I am sure you have heard of 3 Circles. Starbucks creates a sense of community and this is what the next generation craves most.
But you already knew all of that! Perhaps what you don’t know, however, is that since so many people in England have never been to a church or may not even know where one is, a strategy called “Bible-talks” has arisen. Call it “God-talks”, “Jesus-talks”, “Faith-talks”, or whatever you like, the key principle is that a group of young people are exposed to stories found in the Bible before they are invited to church.
I have been thinking a lot about what this approach might look like in America. If the screen door to your church is your church’s website or social media feed (where one can first watch the worship service virtually) and your front door is defined as either your physical gathering/worship service(s) on Sunday morning or an in-person small group that meets somewhere throughout the week, then perhaps the step taken in-between the two doors needs to be some kind of digital discipleship group.
I am not referring to a digital discipleship group for believers perse, but rather a digital discipleship group for the unchurched (which includes both Christians and non-Christians). This once-a-week or once-a-month or even once-a-quarter online meeting could be designed to accomplish various goals. One group might meet weekly and discuss a chapter they read out of the book of John. Another larger-sized group might meet once-a-month where a facilitator leads a discussion on topics related to how Christians are perceived by the unchurched (Barna’s list includes “hypocritical, get saved, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, judgmental”). Finally, a once-a-quarter group meeting could be something as simple as hosting a vocational seminar on Zoom or Facebook where your church brings in Christians from various sectors to speak on work as worship. Gen Z is dying to know how faith and life relates to their work. Talks like these offered by the church, led by a Christian leader, and offered to the next generation can go a long way in breaking down the barriers held between our faith and culture.
Having then tasted some of the Holy Spirit and Christian love coming out of these groups and talks, some of the de-churched, unchurched, and never-churched may just be willing to give your virtual and finally your physical church’s worship service a try. Baseball fans in America know the season is upon them (that is, if MLB doesn’t strike). However, they also know the season and the games themselves are long. New rules have been implemented to speed up the game, but clearing 30 minutes of a 4-hour game isn’t exactly pushing it.
If you like slow and are willing to be patient, you and your church may find yourself soon reaping a large harvest out of the next generation. To stay in the game, you need to remind yourself that God’s Word never returns void and that God himself is longsuffering, not wishing that any should perish (Isaiah 55:11; 2 Peter 3:9). Godspeed and Play Ball!