In our post-Christian, post-modern, post-truth society, Jesus followers aren’t often well regarded. What is an effective and compelling way to share Christian faith that combines the timeless practices of Jesus with timely perspectives about our post-everything era?
Bible Gateway interviewed Craig Springer (@CraigMSpringer) about his book, How to Revive Evangelism: 7 Vital Shifts in How We Share Our Faith (Zondervan, 2021).
How has the culture of the Millennial generation impacted Christianity?
Craig Springer: According to How to Revive Evangelism, our recent study with Barna, 47% of Millennial Christians believe sharing their faith with others is wrong. That’s nearly one-half of all young Christians from their late 20s to late 30s, nearly two decades of believers who think sharing their faith is fundamentally wrong. They’re not saying it’s hard, or undesirable, or too difficult. They’re saying they think it’s wrong.
If the current trend continues, we can expect to see 35 million youth raised in Christian families turn away from the faith. Church attendance is in decline in every generation. Of course, given the statistics, Millennials, in many people’s minds, should bear the blame for the decline of the church in America. But we need to look deeper at what the data are really telling us.
What can be learned from Millennial Christians?
Craig Springer: I believe that despite everything, Millennials hold the key to the future growth of the church. There’s a lot we can learn from them. Despite feeling it’s wrong to share the gospel, the majority (94%) of Millennial Christians do think the best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to come to know Jesus.
Alpha’s study with Barna also revealed that Millennial Christians are having more spiritual conversations with each other than any previous generation. And they have more non-Christian friends outside of the church as well. They have a hunger, a desire, and a willingness to explore faith. That’s something we could all benefit from.
[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, How to Follow Jesus: An Interview with Craig Springer]
What effect has streaming church services during the pandemic had on Christianity?
Craig Springer: Streaming church has been beneficial in that it provided a way to worship when gathering in person wasn’t possible. It also took away a lot of objections that many people have about the logistics of walking into a new church. But the big problem is what online church lacks: there’s no community or conversation. A lot of Christians got used to streaming church and lost a huge part of worship. They got so comfortable that they’re still at home in their pajamas on Sunday morning despite churches now being open.
Fellowship and hospitality should be central to sharing our faith. We need to craft true spaces of belonging for outsiders in our churches. Virtual church made it too easy to just provide a “listen-to-what-we-think” space for those outside our physical walls. Declining attendance at church was a problem before the pandemic. Yes, worshipping online was a necessity in the early days of the pandemic. Now? It’s essential that we welcome people back into our churches before people lose their connection to their faith, but more so, that we craft spaces for conversation for those exploring faith.
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What is a “post-everything” society and how does it challenge evangelism?
Craig Springer: Historically, the church has mostly operated in pre-Christian or even Christian contexts. But when we talk about the post-everything era, we’re talking about how the church must now battle with the fact that generations are growing up in a post-Christian, post-family, and post technology environment. The memory of past spiritual relevance has faded and dulled the impact of the Christian faith.
We’re also post-super-size. This means we’re starting to move past the popularity of mega churches for our younger generations. These are generations who are longing for a church experience where they aren’t lost in the crowd. An experience where churchgoers aren’t just thousands of people in a huge venue watching a screen, or stuck at home watching an impersonal screen. It’s become necessary for churches to put away the large megaphone and instead create more inroads for deep, personal connection.
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What is “we-based” evangelism and its benefits?
Craig Springer: Many churches practice “me-based” evangelism. You might know it as the Sunday morning worship service where every single weekend, pastors share the good news with an auditorium of parishioners. Don’t get me wrong, this kind of “me” based evangelism is extremely important, and pastors should continue being a primary or significant evangelism strategy at their church.
But we’re beginning to realize that to reach (as well as mobilize) Millennials and Gen Z, we need to shift to a “we-based” evangelism. Believe it or not, this is what Jesus practiced. We see this “we-based,” broad-reaching evangelism strategy in Jesus’ ministry from the very beginning, even in the way he called his very first disciples. Jesus often evangelized by bringing groups of “unbelieving outsiders” together, allowing them to eat and drink and talk about life and even faith and following God. (Remember Matthew’s tax collector party in Luke 5?) Jesus often did more ministry around tables than he did within the temple.
We can adopt this ”we-based” practice too, through providing a small group experience aimed at gathering faith “outsiders.” This always includes hospitality (and good food) to those who are spiritually curious and allowing conversations about doubts, the meaning of life, and the Christian faith. This is what we equip churches to do through Alpha. A big benefit of this practice is that it takes evangelism and makes it easy and accessible to those of us who aren’t experts or extroverts.
What is a favorite Bible passage of yours and why?
Craig Springer: John 15:5—“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
I love Jesus’ invitation for us to remain in him. The purpose of our lives is to abide in Christ: to experience his presence, to be filled by his Spirit and to know his love, grace, and forgiveness. But abiding alone isn’t the whole story. We’re also called to abound. Jesus says that when we abide we’ll abound with much fruit. A bit later that text states that “it is to our Father’s glory that we bear much fruit that will last.” The fruit we get to bear by abiding which results in abounding is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and so on. And it’s also the fruit of salvation. As we live the gospel, we share the gospel and others are drawn into a thriving relationship with Christ as well. Abide and abound. Be and do. Faithful and fruitful. I love it!
What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App and Bible Audio App?
Craig Springer: I do genuinely love and regularly use Bible Gateway. I subscribe to the premium access service [Bible Gateway Plus] and use the reference materials all the time for quick insight in the text. I love the layout, the accessibility of multiple translations, and the suite of resources. Thank you for this great service to the church and to God’s people!
How to Revive Evangelism is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.
Bio: Craig Springer is the author of How to Follow Jesus: A Practical Guide to Growing Your Faith and executive director of Alpha USA, a program that runs in over 6,500 churches across every major denomination and 500 prisons throughout the country. Alpha mobilizes over 50,000 volunteers and 360,000 participants annually in the US and over 1.3 million globally. Alpha is a simple idea of a great meal, a short talk and a meaningful discussion about life and faith over ten weeks. It is for people with questions, frustrations and serious doubts about spirituality, the church, the direction of their lives or anything in-between. The key to Alpha is listening—it’s a judgement-free space where any point of view is respected, no one gets corrected and people can explore their thoughts together.
Craig has been a leader and pastor in influential churches in Chicago and Denver, one of which was named Outreach Magazine’s 2014 Fastest Growing Church in America. Craig and his wife, Sarah, also spent a number of years church planting in Prague, Czech Republic. Craig lives in the Denver area and is a passionate hack at every mountain sport you can name. He and Sarah have been married for more than 20 years and have two, full-hearted children and one very spoiled beagle.
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The post How to Share the Gospel in a Post-Everything World: An Interview with Craig Springer appeared first on Bible Gateway Blog.
