The problem of Christendom

"Many non-disciples in our church today. They accept Jesus into their lives and know that their sins are forgiven.They read the Bible and pray every day in individualism. Very little character formation takes place since it is done in isolation and individualism. Personal transformation can only take place in community where others can check on my commitments to God.The system provides them with only religious activity hence no conducive environment for transformation. The Great Commission has been made into Optional Commission."

Do I have an answer? Yes and No. Yes, I have some theory. No, I don't have a model to show you yet. My church leadership decided to embark on a 3 year transformation process. Does any of the alumni has a successful church model to showcase now. I will be interested to visit your church and study it.

Lessons from the "Gen-X" ministries (Leadership Journal article)

An interesting and helpful read from Leadership Journal ...

The X Factor
What have we learned from the rise, decline, and renewal of "Gen-X" ministries?
Collin Hansen

Monday, August 24, 2009

When the willows sway in South Barrington, the evangelical world notices. So Willow Creek Community Church provoked headlines in 2006 when leaders said they would end Axis as everyone knew it. As recently as 2001, about 2,000 young adults had gathered on Saturday nights for alternative music and relevant teaching. But before temporarily closing in 2006, Axis attracted fewer than 400 twenty-somethings. How could a trend-setting ministry decline so severely in just five years?

Due in no small part to Willow's example, ministry leaders across the country once viewed separate, age-targeted services as the key to reaching a generation largely absent from the churches built by their Boomer parents. Little more than 10 years after Willow launched Axis in 1996, many of these once-prosperous twenty-something ministries have folded, spun off, or morphed. Leaders from these ministries have learned differing lessons from the experiment. Some are now advocating new messages for reaching the emerging generation. Others have changed their ministry's structure. Still more want better biblical preaching and radical discipleship. All have been provoked to think deeply about the nature and implications of the gospel and have seen their ministries leave lasting effects on the larger church.

Click here for the complete article