The Churches of Christ need to change.
That was the focus of a meeting of more than 60 church leaders who gathered at the Pepperdine School of Law at the Church Leaders Dialogue event on Friday.
“The evangelical community in America is not adapting quickly enough to face its challenges or meet its God-given opportunities said David Kinnaman, president and strategic leader of Barna Research Group, who gave the keynote address.
The event, Church 2020: New Future Trends Shaping Ministry was hosted by the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution along with Kairos Church Planting Ministry.
Kinnaman’s presentation focused on trends he believes will affect Christian churches in the coming decades, such as an increasing number of non-Christians and a decreasing amount of individuals with a biblical worldview.
In his 14 years with the Barna Research Group, Kinnaman said about 300,000 people have been interviewed on issues relating to Christianity and the church. The Barna Research Group is responsible for primary research, communication tools, printed resources, leadership development for young people and church facilitation and enhancement.
Kinnaman stressed his group’s statistical findings throughout the presentation, which may affect churches in the coming decades.
In a survey of 16-to-29-year-old non-Christians, 85 percent thought Christians were hypocritical, 87 percent thought Christians were judgmental and 75 percent thought Christians were too political. In addition, one in every five young people (under age 40) identify themselves as atheists, compared to one in every 20 elder individuals, according to Kinnaman.
Scott Lambert, network director of Kairos Church Planning, said that the statistics and opportunities presented by Kinnaman were sobering. It was good forus all to hear reality and opportunity both he said. Kinnaman said his presentation was meant to be an informational experience for church leaders to take a new direction with the younger generation that will lead the church in the future.
Assistant Director of the Straus Institute Tim Pownall, who helped plan the event, said the event is a matter of strategy and discussion.
For those of us who are more seasoned in the faith we don’t want to be an impediment to you as you create the church of tomorrow he said.
None of the church leaders who attended the presentation attempted to contradict Kinnaman. There was an agreement that the church needs to change the way it reaches a younger audience and become more willing to adapt.
Connecting with those under 40 is going to be critical if churches of Christ are going to have a future said Rick Gibson, a church leader in the University Church of Christ.
Church leaders who work at Pepperdine are committed to working together to incorporate Generations X and Y.
I look forward to continuing the conversation with friends ministers fellow peers in the graduate program here at Pepperdine and really starting to put meat on identifying people who have a gift or a passion and see how I can bring them along or be a catalyst for somebody that does said Christopher Chesnutt, a church leader with the University Church of Christ. They are also focused on diminishing misguided views of Christianity.
There is a perception that the American gospel is better then the Christian gospel said Dr. Timothy Willis, a Pepperdine professor and member of the Conejo Valley Church of Christ. I wrestle to find out how to show that is a misperception.”
There is no national or international hierarchy in the Churches of Christ. As a result there will be no single uniform response to the issues raised by Kinnaman according to Pepperdine University Provost Daryl Tippens who gave the opening prayer for the night.
Tippens said the university will not make a pronouncement on matters raised during the presentation.
“We encourage students and faculty to participate in a rich congregational life Tippens said. That is where the change will be hammered out and implemented.”
The idea for a Church Leaders Dialogue on Generations X and Y came out of a need for churches to reach a younger audience and the fact that the Straus Institute received repeated calls from local churches requesting help resolving problems. “The kinds of problems we were being called in to help tended to be the same types of conflicts Pownall said. We figured let’s be proactive mitigate problems before they happened and identify solutions to be but in place.”
Pownall said the seasoned members of the church cannot just “pass the torch but become facilitators for changes in the church.
The 20-somethings and 30-somethings in churches and in faith communities around Southern California are having appropriately increasing sway in what church is going to look like and what the important trends and ideas in the church are going to be Pownall said.
Ministers and leaders will gather for a follow-up meeting on Nov. 18 at the Culver Palms Church of Christ in Culver City, to assess considerations by ministers and church leaders who attended this event.
The considerations and thoughts of these leaders will be compiled into a formal plan of action, which will help the Churches of Christ at large address larger transformational issues.
Tonight is not the end of the process Pownall said. We hope it is the beginning.”