Barna State of the Church 2020 and the Next Generation

The Barna Group, in State of the Church 2020 asked, “Who has championed you and helped you grow?” Who has come alongside you in creative thinking? [1]

Our champions are often simultaneously our challengers, and our current world health crisis has definitely challenged all of us as we surrender what we cannot control to gain clarity on the contribution we, the church, have opportunity to make. Some days feel like we are running into roadblocks no matter which direction we turn. We may want to throw up our hands, go to bed early, and try again tomorrow.

Or we worship, as Barna chose, opening the State of the Church webcast.

Heartland Worship opened the afternoon session with a fierce battle cry of a blessing, much like the singers in Scripture preparing the troops to witness ambushes the Lord had set (2 Chron. 20:21-22). And amid the crucial knowns of today’s battle, there are many more unknowns as there were on that ancient day. We know God is for us; God has not given us a spirit of fear but indwelled us with the Spirit that provides the will and the way to champion and challenge one another.

So we reset. We refocus on what the Lord is doing during this time. We watch God’s ambushes defeat the enemy and we join God’s work to restore.

The fact is the church sits in the middle of a world needing restoration, and our next generation sits in the middle of the church. When they show signs of withering, we must ask them meaningful questions and listen to their answers, observe, and honor the different experiences with which they come to the table. “What have you done differently lately? How does that feel? What do you need help with?” These questions will help those with ears to hear prepare for the current and changing world of ministry.

Together with our next generation, we must examine the changes that have occurred and what they have revealed. Circumstances have accelerated disruptions which were already taking place in our churches and have the potential to hasten many needed changes and yield deeper discipleship. The status quo has been removed, and it’s hard right now. We just want to go to church. But we have the opportunity to consider showing up as the church in a different way, where people actually are. Imagine how quickly this could blur ecclesial, social, and racial lines that have hemmed us in with our programs and ministries in the past! We are here to lead people, show love, mercy and compassion. We are here to participate in discipleship with one another, as Jesus went beyond his teaching to do. He gathered a few, gave them access to his life and an opportunity to practice. This sounds socially appropriate, even now!

This is a lot for our next generation to take on all at once. They are tough enough, no doubt, which is why we are going to have to be willing to hand them the freedom to explore, but it’s still a lot to take on all at once. Barna has suggested ways to support while pointing out the truth, which admits Gen Z has never known safety. Their reality has always contained the precautionary measures within which they must move through the world, and yet school shootings and a mysterious virus continually prove it is a hostile place. Currently, among 18-29-year-olds, resilient discipleship worldwide equals 10%, which is encouraging given God has always used a remnant. Millennials connect with each other globally more than the generation ahead of them. This testimony proves true in our own home as one of our children regularly worships with “his church in Brazil” – one he has visited in person each year since his first foray, and one in which he feels as close in Christian community as he does his church two miles from where he does his laundry.

Rather than affirming our next generation’s hunch that a world in crisis means church leaders are wringing their hands waiting to get back to “the way it was,” we must make trustworthy moves. Engagement wins the day far and above prerecorded, tightly edited worship productions. When looking for innovation, we will find our greatest source in smaller groups and in relational connectivity, even just a call to find out what’s going on. While our young adults are globally connected, they crave relational intimacy during this fluctuating time of life. It’s fragile. Friend groups are changing, opportunities abound, and there is great fear of making a life-altering wrong choice. Surrounded by people physically or digitally, the feelings of loneliness are intense, and it is in this awareness leaders must empathize and increase the relational capacities of our ministries. We have to engage to get the whole story behind what is merely visible.

We can use this time intergenerationally, to sift through the rummage sale of ministry, asking ourselves and one another about the usefulness of each item as we hold it up to the light. Young adults are interested in the perspectives of older, wiser Christians, but also in authenticity and vulnerability, as they ask revelatory questions like, “Do you really care about me or are you just in this for yourself?” Are we getting paid to be in relationship because it’s a ministry job, or are we growing alongside, discipling one another?

What meaningful information does this world moment reveal? What do we continue or choose to honor with our presence, time and attention? A real picture of what is happening equips us as church leaders to legitimately engage and move forward. Barnaaccess.com is rich with free resources enabling ministries to become more data-informed while placing tools in hand to utilize that data, including free live classes on Wednesday afternoons. We desire to navigate change-culture with clear thinking, following the will of God with the energy the Spirit provides (Phil. 2:13). May we grow in our ability to trust the resources of God within us and around us as we walk in relational ministry.

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[1] Barna’s full webcast from May 20, 2020, is accessible here.