Last year my son-in-law, a church planter in Seattle, Washington, introduced me to an outstanding podcast by British podcaster Justin Brierley, “<a href="https://justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth/">The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God</a>.” Brierley contends that there is a growing openness to consider the claims of Christianity as a life option. His interviews with public stars like Jordan Peterson, Tom Holland, and Ayaan Hersi Ali about their personal journeys investigating Christianity bring real life stories to Brierley’s thesis that belief in God is an area of rising interest among the newer generations.
As church leaders, our attention is often focused primarily on our members. They are our flock and we spend our time thinking about them and caring for them–appropriately so. Yet there is another flock God calls our attention to: His lost flock. I believe Jesus’s three parables about lost things in Luke 15 are not talking about church members that have slipped out of our pews. I believe these parables direct us to God’s focus, to those people who are lost to His presence and our role to be seekers of them.
Recently I spoke at Harding University’s Shepherding Conference on “The Challenge of the Empty Church.” One idea I presented was on the three treasures people are looking for in their lives today: Relationship, Significance, and Meaning.
Relationship
There is a deep longing for relationship today. Amazingly, despite the inundation of social media platforms, loneliness today is an epidemic. It seems like the more technology we have available to connect us the less actual human connection we actually have. For churches, this means that people may be more willing to encounter us as a place of relationship over a place where they can find truth, worship, or God. This seeking for relationship is why small group activities are critical. While the corporate worship experience is important in its own right, it is the human connection in smaller groups that people seek. People are looking for places where they are known. We need to be able to see people regularly who know our names, who know our family, who know our lives. If you want your church to grow with new people, ask yourself, “Where do we offer relationship as a church?”
Significance
Gen Z is still forming itself, but one of its rising characteristics is the desire to “work in careers that positively impact the world. With their interest in invention and social entrepreneurship as a way to contribute to addressing social issues, serving the community and going to work are likely going to be one in the same (With Eyes Wide Open). As churches, we express the character of God through our acts of service. We access biblical injunctions to serve widows and orphans (James 1:27), to welcome strangers, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and serve those in prison (Matthew 25:31-46). One of the observations I’ve made through the years is that it is our Christian witness through more often impacts the faith of the people we invite to serve with us than those we actually serve. In a world where people are seeking significance the church offers opportunities to serve. Invite those around you to join you in your service to the world. As you rub shoulders together not only is your faith validated, you will have opportunity to get to know those who are serving with you but who may not yet be believers.
Meaning
The final need people look for is meaning. They want to know does life have meaning beyond its daily activities, demands, and struggles. Another word to describe the search for meaning is value. People need to know they their life has value. Here is where Christianity needs to shine. What greater sense of meaning and value can we share than the good news that Jesus died for us, our shortcomings, for our sins. Jesus’s atoning sacrifice is deeply personal. Then there is the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 is our favorite verse for baptism, but we may lose its impact when we leave out the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For people seeking meaning, how meaningful is it to know that God will personally, directly dwell within them. Finally, there is the gifting of that Holy Spirit. While biblical descriptions such as Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 define a limited set of Holy Spirit given gifts, my experience is that God’s giftings are multitudinous. He provides us what we need for all the roles of life. As parents and children, husbands and wives, workers and employers, God will give us the gifts we need to navigate those roles and bless others through them. There is no other place in this world where people are offered these things. The church is unique.
I hope these three treasures people are seeking will open up avenues for you to connect with those around you who are seeking.
Blessings,
Stan Granberg