Unchurched America

WHO ARE THE MOST UNCHURCHED IN AMERICA?

Yesterday I went to a pastors conference put on by an organization called Building God's Way.  They specialize in the construction of new churches.  They have built some amazing buildings and you can see their work here.  What struck me the most at the conference was the statistics they gave on the two most unchurched people groups in America.  I think you will be surprised at who they are...(click the link below to see)

The Millennial's

The Millennial's are roughly those who are between the ages of 18-30 and were born in the 1980's to early 1990's.  They are the next generation after the baby boomers.  What's interesting is that today in America there are more millennial's (100 million) than there are baby boomers (70 million), making them the largest generation in the country.  The incredibly sad thing, though, is that only 7.5 % of millennial's regularly attend church.  Only 7.5 percent!  That is by far the lowest percentage of a generation in America that go to church.  

So what needs to be done to reach the millennial's?  We'll for starters, 60% of them are college educated, so teaching them intelligent, biblical doctrine is key.  They don't need light and fluffy preaching, filled with pop culture references and jokes.  They need the meat of the Word rather than the milk (Hebrews 5:12-14).  I have made it a point as a youth and college pastor to not overly simplify my lessons.  Instead, I challenge my students.  I hold them to a high standard.  I think too often young people aren't given enough credit for what they can learn.  

Another way to reach millennial's is through discipleship.  Over 70% of them are willing to be mentored by somebody else.  This puts the responsibility on the baby boomers to stop criticizing the millennial's and instead disciple them.  I think the most effective way to do this is through one on one discipleship, like Barnabas did with Paul (Acts 9:26-27; 11:25-26), or by small group discipleship, like Jesus did with His disciples (Matthew 5:1-2).  Let's not forget the great commission that Jesus gave us was to "make disciples of all nations," not make decisions of all nations.  It's not enough to just preach the gospel to a millennial, it's also necessary to mentor them into a mature relationship with Christ.            

The Men

Men are the other most unchurched people group in America.  Look at these startling statistics.  Around 90% of men believe in God, and of those men 5/6 call themselves Christians.  The problem is, only ONE out of six regularly attends church.  Men just aren't interested in going to church.  And here's the worst part: 80-90% of families will come to church if the man goes.  In other words, if mom goes to church, she's probably going alone, but if dad comes to church, everybody is coming with him.  How many millions of families would attend church if men would start going?  What is hindering men from coming to church?

I think one reason men are turned off by church is the over-feminization of the gospel.  Jesus is seen only as gentle, kind, and compassionate, and is hardly ever portrayed as confrontational, strong, and confident.  When the gospel is presented men and women are forced into an emotionally-driven feeling rather than a logical, analytical decision.  And it doesn't help that when a man walks into the foyer of the church he sees nothing but flowers and feminine decor.  He probably thinks he just walked into a women's banquet hall!     

Men need to hear pastors preach about Jesus with eyes of flaming fire coming back to Earth on a white horse with an army behind Him (Revelation 19:11-16), more than pastors preaching about getting in touch with our feelings.  Men need to be taught how to be men in a way that glorifies God!  They need to be taught how to be leaders of their families (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) and leaders of their marriages (Ephesians 5:23).  If that were regularly taught in church, then men would be more likely to take up the mantle as spiritual leaders over their wife and kids.  Men would see the importance of their own spiritual walk and their need to regularly fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:24-25).  

The Message

By far the two most unchurched people groups in America are men and millennial's.  So what can you do to send a message to them that they are welcomed at your church?  It starts with praying that God would draw young people (Psalm 24:6) and men (1 Peter 3:1) to your church.  Then you need to become intentional at reaching them.  Millennial's enjoy coffee, technology, and change; and men enjoy excellence, vision, and risk challenges.  Are you willing to become all things to all people that you might reach some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)?  Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone?  Is your church interested in change?  If you answer yes to these questions, then you will reap a harvest, because this harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.