State of Our Church
Members of both Anthem & Nations Church, who is our daughter church, came together for our church retreat in May
I recently attended the Lead the Way Tour with Ed Stetzer, who is a Christian thought leader from Biola University. He offered valuable insights into the current state of the church to help us understand the cultural moment we’re living in and how to faithfully navigate ministry today. He opened with 1 Corinthians 16:9 where Paul speaks of a door for effective ministry being open, even as opposition increases. This scripture really captures the tension we’re living in today, which is a challenge and an opportunity side by side.
The three statistics that opened my eyes:
Christianity in the U.S. has experienced a slow, but steady decline. Over the past 20 years, the percentage of adults identifying as Christian has dropped by 20%.
At the same time, there is a growing spiritual hunger with a majority of Gen Z (59%) and Millennials (54%), who say they are more open to God today than they were before the pandemic.
And yet, evangelistic energy in the church is low with only 28% of Christians saying they feel a strong personal responsibility to share their faith with others.
So, the church in the U.S. has been in steady decline, but more people are open to spiritual conversations and yet a majority of Christians aren’t interested. This is both a challenge, and a call to action for our church.
Christianity in the U.S. may be in decline, but God is growing our church. What started out as a small gathering of 10 people in the fall of 2020 has now grown into a thriving community of 74 adults and 31 kids, who are deepening their love of God, of each other, and our neighbors. In fact, 91 adults and kids recently came together for a weekend retreat to deepen our relationships together and with God. One person texted me afterwards, “It was truly a blessing! The whole time was filled with joy, meaningful fellowship, and powerful teaching. We really felt refreshed and encouraged.” Another two people joined us, who are exploring a faith in Jesus. And then, someone else shared, “I asked God to speak through this retreat. I didn’t want to go back home empty. He spoke to me. He is faithful!” God is truly forming something special in our community of faith, and we praise him for his many spiritual blessings towards us.
In terms of a spiritual hunger, God has opened doors. There has been continued interested at Bellevue College in our Talk Time ESL Outreach, drawing in 10-15 students every week. Some asked about our church and others were interested in talking about our faith in Jesus or in sharing about their beliefs as well. One BC student said something like, “I have severe social anxiety, but I feel like this group has welcomed me and helped me grow,” and then another shared how grateful they are to practice English with us every week. Join us in praying about how God will lead us into the future as we continue to seek ways to be a faithful witness for him at Bellevue College and beyond.
In terms of evangelistic energy, there are more people seeking ways to share their faith. First, there is an increasing number of our church members, who are praying for their neighbors. Currently we report 9,647 prayers, which is increasing every week! Second, our church is hosting and sponsoring five neighborhood barbecues to help our church members build relationships with their neighbors. Third, we are praying about a new church-wide sports outreach led by Ganzo, who started something like this in his home-country of Mongolia and who currently serves as a site-coach at Jubilee Reach. We praise God for the people, who God is leading in our church to share their faith with others!
All said, God is writing a new story in Anthem Church! So we are praising God for a steady increase of people, who are interested in forming community, in sharing their faith, and in equipping others for Christ. Anthem Church is such a gift to us. Truly this ministry experience has been more than I could have asked or imagined these past 4+ years, and so join me in praising God for what he is doing in and through our church family.