Organized religion has fallen on hard times in the West, especially among younger Americans.
In a recent report, Gallup found that for the first time in American history, church membership of any kind has dropped below half of the population, to just 49%. And when you look even deeper at the generational breakdown in the report, you see that only 36% of Millennials (those born from 1981-1996) belong to any kind of church or religious institution.
So why start a new church in an area of town where very little of the population is looking for a church? (The average age of those living in Channelside is 32!) Where many people are busy advancing their career, spending fun weekends away, and living the downtown lifestyle, why church?
Well, that is a really, really important question! And as Simon Sinek taught us a few years back in his groundbreaking book “Start with Why”, it is a question we should probably consider at the outset of our journey as a new church.
Here are four reasons why you should consider church—whether you’ve stopped attending or never even attended in the first place:
Transcendence
For virtually all of human history, people have pondered what else is out there. They’ve imagined that we aren’t alone in the universe, that all of creation points to something more. And the truth is, if we stopped for long enough from looking down at our phones and television and computer screens and looked up, we would agree. We all know deep down that there is something more. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
And that is where the church comes in. One of the main purposes of the church is to come together and to look up—to worship and consider the transcendental God of the universe who has revealed Himself to us in the person of Jesus and the words of the Bible.
Community
The church is, by definition, not a physical building but a community of people. And that is one reason why the church is so important—it provides us with spiritual community.
We’ve learned firsthand the past few years how much we truly need community. Studies show us that anxiety and depression rates have gone up 25% due to COVID-19, and often stems from isolation and a lack of community.
And I know you can get community in other places—your workplace, your gym, your favorite coffee shop. But there is no other community that can ever be as close knit as a spiritual community. That is because our bond is not built on similar workout styles or social interests, but upon a mutual faith and hope of not only doing life together, but also spending eternity together.
Spiritual Formation
Growth is a buzzword in our culture. We all want to grow—physically, intellectually, emotionally.
But have you thought lately about how you’re growing spiritually?
That’s where the church comes in. Church provides a space for spiritual formation to occur in your life. Because just like any other type of growth, having people around you to cheer you on and hold you accountable in forming spiritual foundations is absolutely crucial.
Justice
Since its inception, the Christian Church has always provided both a foundation and motivation for doing justice in the community and the world.
- The foundation for justice, echoed even in the declaration of independence, is the Imago Dei—that all people were created in the image of God and have certain God-given rights and are worthy of love and respect.
- The motivation for justice, as author and pastor Tim Keller so brilliantly says, is that “A true experience of the grace of Jesus Christ inevitably motivates a man or woman to seek justice in the world.”
That is why Christians have always been advocates of justice and pioneers of hospitals for the sick, shelters for the poor, orphanages, and the fight against racism.
The church and religious faith provides the only legitimate foundation and motivation for justice. And doing justice through a local church is much more feasible than trying to figure out how you can do so on your own. Local churches should lead the way in doing justice in our community.
So there it is…four quick reasons to get you thinking on why Church may be more relevant in our day than you might be led to believe.
But the best way to answer that is to check it out for yourself. Join us on a Sunday soon and see how our community points us up to God, points us in to loving one another, and points us out to serving our city and our world.