Turning the Tide on Hopelessness

No matter where you live in the world there are more people around you who are not part of a God-loving, Bible-believing Christian church than are. The numbers are staggering. Less than 30% of Americans attend church on a given weekend, less than 20% of Canadians, less than 5% of Europeans, etc. The cultural impact is profound. We are facing a crisis of global proportions.

The current rise of the value of small groups provides an excellent solution. Many of those who have given up on church will decline your invitation to attend a weekend service. They will accept your invitation to come to your home for a gathering of friends—even when those friends are believers and some of the conversation is about spiritual matters. While there, they’ll get to see how Christians genuinely care about each other. They’ll get to see authentic Christians caring about the needs of the community around them. They’ll get to see Jesus in a deeply personal way!

Sadly, many Christians who benefit from being in a small group find it easier to invite Christians from other churches than build bridges to the lost souls around them.  In a world desperate for hope that’s not going to cut it! 86% of American churches are smaller today than 10 years ago. Of the 14% that are growing, 13% are simply gathering the people who are leaving the shrinking churches. Only 1% of American churches are growing by conversion growth!

That’s why I teach at small groups seminars, “Never invite a member of an other church to your small group.” I consider it profoundly wrong to steal sheep from other flocks to populate our own. Even more importantly, filling one set of chairs by emptying another one is not going to turn the tide on the crisis we face around!

The original Acts 2 church was born in a world that knew very little about Jesus. Like today, its members faced an uphill battle to make a difference in their world. They met in large public places. They met in small home gatherings. They turned the world upside down in one lifetime and started a movement we  benefit from today.

My new book, Unmuted: Restoring Your Church’s Voice (available on Amazon or by emailing A2N Press at jschuring@acts2network.org ) explores who those early Christians were and how they made a difference in the world. It is also filled with stories of 21st century Christians who are making a difference today. A portion of the proceeds of the book goes directly to church planting efforts in several parts of the world desperate for hope.

Won’t you join me in becoming part of the solution? Let’s share the hope we have found in Jesus with the hopeless all around us.

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