EMPTY CHURCHES

THE DECLINE OF
CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY
IN THE WEST

EMPTY
CHURCHES
THE DECLINE OF
CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY
IN THE WEST

Empty Churches:
The Decline of Cultural Christianity in the West
Kyle R. Beshears. All rights reserved.
Special thanks to Lynnette Ras.

EMPTY CHURCHES
IS FREE TO ANY AND ALL.
VISIT WWW.DEAREPHESUS.COM FOR
MORE INFORMATION.
BASED ON A SERMON PREACHED AT
THE PEOPLE OF MARS HILL
MOBILE, ALABAMA
WWW.POMH.ORG

INTRO
God is dead.
To many Europeans these three words, written by German philosopher Frederich Nietzsche,
summarize the state of modern European society.

Jesus is irrelevant. Faith is a crutch. Christianity is something our grandparents relied on to

get them through times of war, but were past that now. Weve moved on, become enlightened, evolved.
God is dead - I am my own god. As English poet William Ernest Henley declared: I am the
master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
Today, in the minds of many people Europe is decidedly post-Christian. The continent that
was once referred to as Christendom is now leading the way in shedding itself of its Christian identity, opting instead for secularism as societys worldview. Christianity in Europe is a
thing of the past.
Is this actually true? Is Christianity truly dead in Europe? This book Empty Churches
would argue a resounding no.
Despite much of Europes landscape being littered with empty churches, the Church in
Europe is far from empty. Living churches have built their foundation on the person and
work of Jesus, generously saturate their lives in prayer, uphold Gods Word as true and relevant, and actively live out biblical community. These living churches are living proof that
while churches may be decreasing, the Church is increasing.
However, cultural Christianity had indeed declined in European society. It is no longer socially advantageous to identify ones self as an evangelical Christian. Being a Christian simply
because everyone else is a Christian no longer exists in many European countries. Additionally, as European society shifted towards secularism and away from cultural Christianity,
evangelicals are find themselves marginalized.
So, what happened to cultural Christianity in Europe? How have evangelical churches managed to continue thriving in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic towards them. Is there
anything we can learn as the church in America from the church in Europe? Empty
Churches will seek to answer these questions and draw the conclusion that even though culture may change, the promises of God remain true. The global Church is currently explod-

ing, just as He promised. We only need to realize that God is calling the church in the west
to clarify what it means to be a Christian, to dig deep into biblical community, and to continue the course of solid biblical preaching to the glory of Gods name.
One quick note: this book is primarily about Western Europe. The terms Europe and
European should be understood as Western Europe and not Eastern Europe. The two,
while in geographic proximity, have very different histories and current issues concerning
Christianity. Also, not all European countries are the same. Empty Churches does not
mean to broad stroke an entire continent with diverse cultures; rather, the book will hone in
on the common cultural trajectory of European society as a whole.

POST(CULTURAL) CHRISTIAN
EUROPE
What exactly has happened to cultural Christianity in Europe?
This is an extremely difficult question to answer since there are many reasons that could explain what happened (and to some extent what is still happening). To begin answering the
question, one must look to Europes past.

There are common explanations that Christians give, some of which fall short of the truth.
For example, two very common reasons for the European churchs decline are secularism and
Biblical criticism. In my opinion, they are not complete reasons.
Surely, some would protest, these two reasons must play some type of role! After all, according to some Christians, the secular view of evolution is a concocted lie created to specifically destroy belief in God. What about Biblical criticism? Does it not teach against the infallibility of scripture?
It is very easy to blame the decline of cultural Christianity in Europe on a myriad of typical
suspects. Evolution could be blamed for replacing Gods creative actions with natures blind
forces. Biblical criticism could be blamed for causing Christians to question the historicity
and accuracy of the Bible. Even secularism could be blamed for removing Christianity from
public life and replacing it with the self or a vague sense of social responsibility.
Any one of these factors certainly play a role, but to what degree is very debatable. Much to
the dismay of modern atheistic thinkers like Richard Dawkins, who champions 19th century
evolutionary biologists (like Charles Darwin) as liberators of humanity, it seems that no one
enjoyed the decline of Christianity in Europe, as they understood it at that time.
Darwin himself lamented the decline of Christianity in Europe. The former Anglican seminarian once wrote that he was very unwilling to give up [his] belief. Ultimately, the tragedy of losing his children, not his own theory, led him to doubt.
Likewise, biblical criticism was also not meant as a means to free humanity from the bondage of Christianity, but rather to sharpen our understanding of biblical texts, their origins,
and the historical context surrounding them.
Cultural Christianitys decline in Europe cannot be blamed specifically on 19th century evolutionary biologists hell-bent on finding a reason to disbelieve in God, as some Christians
would propose. It also cannot be blamed on enlightenment thinkers throwing off the shackles
of centuries-long tyranny by the oppressive and backwards Roman Catholic Church, as some

secularists suggest. The actual cause of Christianitys decline in Europe is much more complicated than that.
Instead of the usual suspects, I believe the decline of cultural Christianity in Europe may lie
in the combination of three factors:
1.

Individualistic religion

2.

A century of warfare

3.

Little to no apologetic evangelism

Now, I dont claim to have the exact explanation, but after years of research, contemplation,
and living in Europe I feel my observations might have some traction in explaining not only
European Christianitys past, but American Christianitys future.

INDIVIDUALISTIC RELIGION
Religion in many European countries is an extremely personal matter. In many instances, it is
considered rude to question or belittle someones beliefs. Each persons ideas about truth and
reality are valuable, regardless of their truthfulness. As long as a person doesnt share their
truth with anyone else, society will get along fine. It wasnt always like this.
At one point in Europes history, the church was the center of society and culture. It was
the central focus of community. People would gather together, hear the gospel preached as a
congregation, and discuss their faith in community. Faith was both communal and personal.
During a period of time called the Enlightenment, the center of society and culture shifted
from the church to the individual.
Faith became an individual and internal decision. People gained autonomy over their own religious ideas. Enlightenment thinkers from Spinoza (16321677) to Schleiermacher (1768
1834) championed the autonomy of the individual to reason for themselves. Consequently,
religion became less of a communal aspect of life and more of a private matter for one's own
contemplation and interpretation.

10

While there are some intriguing aspects to this, the logical extreme certainly damages community. Why share your faith if faith is individualistic? If my faith is a matter of personal preference, choice, or determination, why should I bother someone else with it?
Consequently, evangelism in Europe may have waned because of a shift from communal
faith to individualistic religion. The Enlightenment gave people control over their own religion, declaring the individual as morally and spiritually autonomous. If religion is strictly a personal matter, then there is little need to share the gospel with anyone besides ones self.

CENTURY OF WARFARE
On the heels of Europeans adopting individualistic faith came one of the bloodiest centuries
the world has ever seen. It could be argued that World War I, World War II, and the Cold
War did more to damage to the European view of God than evolution and modernism ever
could.
This idea was made evident to me in Saint-L, France a few years back. During my time there, I visited a church that had been bombed in WWII so severely that only half of the building remained (pictured). After the war, the
parishioners restored it enough to conduct mass but left the bullet holes and
shrapnel in the walls. On the outside of the church a dud artillery
shell is still visible, imbedded into a wall.
The parishioners did this to remember a time of terrible tyranny, warfare, and a total absence from peace.
On a separate occasion, I visited a French World War
I memorial. An enormous mausoleum was constructed over the mass grave of a near-by battlefield. Body parts were collected and thrown
into the grave, because they were completely unidentifiable. Small windows lined the floor of
the mausoleum, displaying thousands of human bones and skulls.

11

What stuck out the most for me was not the eerie silence of the battlefield, nor the utter horror of seeing thousands of skulls and bones in a seemingly never-ending pile, but a quote
which I read:

We asked God for peace,

but He never answered.
The devastation of World War I is often overshadowed by the subsequent world war, but
its affect on European faith cannot be overstated. The Great War took the lives of 7 million
Germans, 6 million French, and 3 million Britons. As the memorial in France suggests, many
people believed they were taken without reason by God.
Just two decades later, World War II came at the cost (military and civilian) of an estimated
5.4 million Germans, 600,000 French, and 489,000 Britons. Additionally, the Holocaust witnessed the extermination of 6 million Jews.
In the modern town of Dachau, a massive concentration camps sits wholly as it was 70 years
ago. During a visit a few years back, I was surprised to experience the nearness this camp
had to the rest of the city. Inside the fences you could hear cars passing by and children playing on a near-by soccer field. It was hard to ignore the pleasant chirping of birds in the
woods while viewing the cremation ovens that disposed of tens of thousands of bodies.
Even 70 years removed, I found myself asking God why he allowed such a horrific atrocity
to occur? If I, an American three generations removed, was stirred to question Gods seeming inaction over these atrocities, how much more would the Europeans who had experienced them?
During the first half of the 20th century Europeans could not understand why God, who
promises peace and mercy, would allow millions and millions of people to die during two of
the worlds worst wars. All in their own backyard. Literally.

12

It should be said that America went through similar struggles during that same period. We
also suffered heavy losses for wars fought in far off lands. Why then did our nation not experience the same national crisis of doubt?
I would argue that, until recently, America survived the onslaught of very difficult questions spurned from the death and destruction that plagued
Europeans for decades. We never had to Keep Calm and
Carry On as our capital was destroyed by wave after wave
of devastating bombings. Rather, we viewed ourselves as
vindicators - we sent men and women to a war far away.
We were a part of the solution, not the innocent bystanders
of the problem. We did not fight in our own backyards.
Following World War II came the Cold War. This is something we as Americans do not tend to consider. How much
did the looming threat of a third world war affect the European psyche and their view of God? Additionally, there was
intense persecution against Christians in countries behind the Iron Curtain. The effects of
the Soviet Union on religion can be seen, even today.
Take, for example, Germany which was split in two during the Cold War. If you were to discover the percentage of atheists in Germany today, you would find that about 30% of the
population identify themselves as such. However, if you were to poll West Germany and
East Germany separately, you would find that the percentage of atheists is vastly different at
10.3% and 51.1% respectively.

LITTLE TO NO APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM

Warfare spurns questions of good and evil, Gods purpose and will, and even his existence.
Unfortunately, the questions came in force but answers rarely followed. Individualistic religion was not equipped to explain why a good and loving God would sit back as World Wars I

13

& II and the Cold War tore the continent apart. During a time when Christian leadership
was needed most, there was little defense for the faith. The pulpits remained silent.
It seems that when questions over the authority of the Bible and Gods character rose, European pulpits shrank. There was a disregard for apologetics as a means to explain the gospel
in Europes immediate context of warfare and skepticism. One may speculate that apologetics, being the art of defending the Christian faith against objection, would have been of chief
importance during both the Enlightenment and the previous century of warfare in Europe.
Not only were people no longer sharing the gospel through evangelism, neither were they
defending the gospel from objection.
Of course, there were the exceptions. Most notably C. S. Lewis, who authored The Problem of Pain in an attempt to answer of why evil and suffering exist. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is
another great example. This fiery anti-Nazi theologian railed against the dictatorship while
offering sound apologetic arguments for faith in times of crisis. He paid for his message with
his life.
These men were the minority. It seems that the vast majority of pulpits steered clear of the
big questions. When the issue of the Bibles authenticity and authority arose, the pulpits
clung to a message of using scripture as a moral compass regardless of its trustworthiness.
When the full implications of naturalistic evolution was realized - that humans are no more
than cleaver animals - the pulpits were quiet on why Gods image-bearing creation is something more than simply animal. When Gods loving character was called into question during
a century of warfare, there was simply no reply.

THE RESULT
The result of these three things (individualistic religion, a century of war, and a disregard
for apologetic evangelism) is the rapid decline of cultural Christianity in Europe. So, to what
extent has cultural Christianity declined?

14

This question is also difficult to answer. We can explore the results in four observations
about Christianity as a whole in Europe.
OBSERVATION ONE: Many Europeans still identify themselves a Christian, but do not
actively attend Christian services.
Strangely enough, although many Europeans do not actively participate in a local Christian
body they nonetheless still identify themselves as Christian on census polls. Perhaps this
may be due to the fact that in some European countries people are given the option to pay a
church tax to either the Protestant or Catholic state churches. Thus, when a pollster asks
what religion someone identifies with, they may answer according to their tax records. However, the amount of Europeans claiming to be Christian compared to those actually showing
up for church on a regular basis is vastly different, as the following infographic demonstrates.

EVANGELICAL CHURCH ATTENDERS IN 2011

% of population who attended church weekly
vs. % of population who claim to be Christian
POPULATION

BRITAIN

FRANCE

72%
1.4%

63%
0.9%

CLAIM

CHURCH GOER

GERMANY

72%
1.2%

Total church goers = 2,446,613

or roughly 1/3 of Alabama

PEWFORUM, PKD, CHURCH OF ENGLAND, FDRATION PROTESTANT DE FRANCE

15

This is a reality despite the fact that for much of Europe the trend of identifying ones self as
Christian is declining. Being known as an evangelical Christian in some European countries
actually means marginalization. It does not mean persecution yet, especially when considering the persecution Christians face in other parts of the world. Nonetheless, many Christians in Europe are being marginalized because being known as an evangelical Christian
could have negative social consequences.
OBSERVATION TWO: Many Europeans are unchurched, meaning they have never
stepped foot in a church for any reason besides weddings, funerals, or christenings.
They have never gone to a church service to hear the gospel preached, worship in song, nor
fellowship once in their entire life. Consider the following infographics with regard to the
population of unchurched Europeans.

% OF UNCHURCHED POPULATION
= 1 MILLION PEOPLE

= 1 MILLION UNCHURCHED

37%
52%
53%

OF GERMANS
ARE UNCHURCHED

OF BRITONS
ARE UNCHURCHED

OF FRENCH
ARE UNCHURCHED
16

% WHO NEVER ATTEND CHURCH

(EXACT PERCENTAGES MAY BE FOUND IN BIBLIOGRAPHY & NOTES)

>50%
>20%
>10%

EUROPEAN VALUES STUDY

17

OBSERVATION THREE: The religious landscape of Europe is rapidly changing.

As a former continent known as Christendom, Europe is experiencing a rapid change in religious diversity. The two fastest growing religions in Europe are secularism (no religious affiliation, agnosticism, atheism, etc.) and Islam.
While it has been rumored that Europe is becoming more and more influenced by Islam due
to the religions explosive growth, this is not necessarily the case. Islam is in fact growing exponentially in Europe due to immigration, but there is another worldview far ahead of this
religious import. That worldview is secularism.
Consider the following infographic displaying the percentage of religiously unaffiliated citizens in twelve European countries. The United States is given for comparison.

% OF RELIGIOUSLY UNAFFILIATED
80
60
40
20
0
6 9 N F d B S G 3 u 1 U

= FORMER SOVIET STATES

= WESTERN STATES
PEW FORUM

18

Another way of demonstrating Europes rapidly changing religious landscape is through

three religious snapshots of Germany, France, and Britain.
THERE ARE LITERALLY MORE ATHEISTS IN
GERMANY THAN IN THE UNITED STATES

UNITED STATES

313M

GERMANY

3%

31% 81M
= POPULATION
= % ATHEIST

In Britain, there are

more Muslims attending
mosque on Friday . . .

4x

!
c

One empty church in north London

was converted into an atheist
church in January 2013. It was so
popular that by its second ever
service, there was standing room
only in a 250-seat chapel. By July
2013, the founder had planted
multiple churches across Britain and
the United States.

c
c

. . . than Anglicans
attending church
on Sunday.

100,000+
SINCE THEN,

IN 2010, FRENCHMAN
RENE LEBOUVIER SOUGHT
TO LEGALLY DEBAPTIZE

HAVE SOUGHT A LEGAL

HIMSELF

DEBAPTISM
NORC / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO,
PEW FORUM, CHURCH OF ENGLAND

19

Along with the rising popularity of

secularism among Europeans, an increase of immigration from Africa
and the Middle East is also contributing to the changing religious landscape of Europe. The
following infographic demonstrates the growth of Islam
across the globe since 1989. It is
easy to notice the dramatic in-

142%
EUROPE

crease of Europes Muslim population.

GLOBAL GROWTH OF
ISLAM SINCE 1989

2%
AFRICA

12%

25%
N AMERICA

ASIA

SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

OBSERVATION FOUR: Christianity (not cultural Christianity) is alive and vibrant in

Europe.
This observation cannot be demonstrated in numbers or statistics, but rather stories of what
God is doing through His church throughout Europe. While there are many stories of many
churches throughout the continent, I believe two churches in particular capture the fact that

20

Christianity is alive and vibrant despite living in a culture that is growing increasingly antagonistic towards the faith.
CITY MISSION KAISERSLAUTERN
The first church, City Mission Kaiserslautern (Germany), was originally founded by an
American denomination to minister to military service men and women of their denomination stationed at a near-by military base. Formerly under a different name, the church acted
as a life raft church, keeping American members of their denomination afloat for the few
years they lived overseas.
This changed when City Mission Kaiserslautern (CMK) began hearing Gods call to local
missions. The pastor and congregation became convicted that their strategic position within
the heart of Europe was being neglected, and that God had called the churchs focus towards
caring for the poor and needy in the immediate community. When the pastor shared this vision with the denomination he was met with disapproval. After a short season, the church
decided to withdraw from the denomination. Soon funding was cut and the pastor with his
family were left to Gods promises. As He always does, He stayed true.
CMK changed their name shortly after leaving the denomination and immediately began a
benevolence ministry of redistributing food to the needy. Every Saturday (and sometimes
during the week) members of CMK collect food from local grocers that otherwise would
have been thrown out. They then spend hours sifting out bad or spoiled food. Finally, they
set up a table across town, feed the impoverished, and share the gospel.
Like many churches in Europe, CMK has also experienced the miracle of Iranian converts
happening all throughout Europe. One day, an Iranian refugee by the name of Macmud
came to CMK during the month of Ramadan. Macmud explained to the pastor that he had
recently had a dream in which Jesus instructed him to go to CMK and hear about God.
Naturally, the pastor obliged.

21

Another story happened when a young Iranian refugee attended a CMK Sunday service.
The young man had something urgent to say. Unfortunately, he spoke neither German nor
English (as CMK is bi-lingual). Eventually, he found a pen and paper, then drew a vision
God gave him of Jesus on the cross and of how deeply God loved him.
HOLY TRINITY CAMBRIDGE
The second church, Holy Trinity Cambridge (England), has a rich history dating all the way
back to the twelfth century. Christians have been worshipping on the site of Holy Trinity
Cambridge (HT) for hundreds and hundreds of years. The famous British evangelist Charles
Simeon preached at HT, as well as the famous missionary Henry Martin. Countless people
of influence have walked in and out of HTs doors. To call the church strategic for the gospel
is an understatement.
Unfortunately, HT has not always realized that strategic importance. Until relatively recently the church sat almost vacant, home to a dwindling congregation. When HTs current
vicar arrived, he was convinced that God was calling him to simply preaching the gospel
over and over. Many members left the church after his first Sunday. As a result, one of the
vicars staff members swore to have him removed from the post. Nonetheless, the vicar
rested in Gods promises. As He always does, He stayed true.
Today, there are hundreds of students from the University of Cambridge that attend HT
each Sunday. When the university is not in session, a core group of around eighty members
remains in the city throughout the summer months. Then, when class start back up, the
church swells with hundreds of students from one of the most prestigious and influential universities in the world.
Many of the students at HT come to Cambridge having never heard the gospel, but leave
knowing Jesus. When they leave Cambridge, they go all over the world to positions of influence in politics, media, business, and law. There is no way to measure the influence HT will
have on future generations, but one thing is for sure this church is actively and powerfully
engaged in shaping culture and advancing the gospel.
22

SUM UP SO FAR
To sum up so far, cultural Christianity in Europe is in decline or even dead. This may be due
to a combination of factors to include the Enlightenment, a century of warfare, and little to
no apologetic evangelism (with few notable exceptions). The result of these three factors is
an increasingly secular Europe where millions of people are completely unchurched and are
quickly embracing secularism as the religious landscape around them rapidly changes. Consequently, thousands of empty churches litter the countryside of Europe; however, even
though there may be empty churches in Europe, the Church is not empty in Europe. On the
contrary, Christianity is alive and vibrant.

23

AMERICAS DECLINING CULTURAL

CHRISTIANITY
It should come to no surprise that the cultural conscience of America is shifting away from
alignment with Christianity. This will undoubtably challenge the evangelical church
throughout our nation. With this as a reality, what can we learn from European churches
who have gone through a similar change in their own culture?
24

There are a few things we must admit before answering that question. The first is that we
must come to terms that our culture is, in fact, changing. The U.S. culture is currently shifting in a direction that the Christian church will most likely not follow. In this way, American culture is following suit to European culture with regard to its morality. European culture is simply a decade or so ahead of American culture.
For example, consider how America is following Europes lead with regard to the social issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and cannabis legalization.

In 1967, the United Kingdom legalized abortion.

America LEGALIZED ABORTION six years later in 1973.
The Netherlands decriminalized cannabis in the 1970s.
America is following suit with two states decriminalizing in 2012.
In 2003, Belgium recognized same-sex marriage.
THE SUPREME COURT STRUCK DOWN DOMA in 2013.
There are certain recognizable patterns emerging between the shifting European and American societies. It seems, culturally speaking, that when Europe shifts America is often not far
behind.
Consider the following infographic on the next page that demonstrates how our culture is
changing. It will attempt to demonstrate that American culture is experiencing a change in
how it views violence, drug use, human sexuality, and faith.

25

DID YOU KNOW THAT IN AMERICA...

SEXTING
is popular among teens
between the ages of 13-19.
In fact, 10% of them have
sent explicit pictures of
themselves. This did not exist
just a decade ago.
VIOLENT CRIME RATE

I 4.8

2nd
UNBELIEF

n
10%

is now the

largest religious affiliation

PEW RESEARCH

CNN, THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN

is worse than Yemen,

Palestine, Libya, Afghanistan,
and Iraq

PORNOGRAPHY CONSUMPTION

40M DAILY VISITORS

UNODC

% NOW IN FAVOR OF

qqw

CANNABIS LEGALIZATION

0
73%

1 in 3 are
female

XXX CHURCH

PEW RESEARCH

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
OPPOSE

IN JUST A DECADE, PUBLIC OPINON HAS CHANGED

60%

2001

30%

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

60%

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

PEW RESEARCH

FAVOR

26

The second thing we must admit is that cultural Christianity is declining in America. Its dying and on its way it. It is quickly becoming unfashionable to identify ones self as a Christian. This admission may be controversial and some Christians may disagree; however, most
of the signs point to a decline of cultural Christianity in our country much like the decline experienced in Europe.
As a result of declining cultural Christianity, unbelief in America is rising. The following infographic follows unbelief by generation.

DISBELIEF BY GENERATION
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%

GREATEST BOOMERS

GEN X

MILLENNIAL

NEXT
PEW FORUM

27

Along with a rise in disbelief among Americans, church attendance and church planting is
declining. There has been a boost in church planting numbers during the past decade. Perhaps this is why the number of young evangelicals, between 2335, rose 21% to 25% in the
past six years. Despite this small spike, overall church attendance is still declining. As a result, many churches are closing their doors.
According to the North American Mission Board (NAMB), in 1900 there were 28
churches for every 10,000 Americans. Just fifty years later, that number plummeted to 17 for
every 10,000. Since 2004, the trend is expected to continue at an 8% decrease every 4 years.
This is despite the fact that our population is increasing.
The following infographic demonstrates this data where the church icon represents one
church per every 10,000 U.S. citizens. The blue represents U.S. population growth.

300M

m
250M
m
200M m
m
150M
m
100M
m
50M m

m
m
m
m
m
m
m

m
m
m
m
m
m
m

m
m
m
m
m
m
m

1900

m
m
m
m
m

m
m
m
m

1950

m
m
m
m

m
m m m m m
m m m m m m m m m
m m m m m m m m m

2000

2014

NORTH AMERICAN MISSION BOARD, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

28

The third thing we must admit is that a decline in cultural Christianity in America does not
mean the decline of Christianity in the world. This is a crucial point to understand. Jesus
promised His church that it would never end.
Matthew 18:16 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
That term Gates of Hell is also found in the Old Testament as Gates of Sheol. The gates
of a city represented that citys power. Hell/Hades/Sheol is the realm of the dead. What Jesus is promising us in this verse is that death will not overpower the church. The church
will never, ever die. Ever.
When we examine statistics and infographics like the ones in this book, we may be tempted
to throw our hands into the air and give up. The one thing we must remember is that Christianity will not die. Cultural Christianity may become unfashionable, but Christianity itself
will not die.
In fact, just the opposite is occurring across the globe. Christianity is actually exploding! If
you had to guess which world religion is the most globally diverse, which would you pick?
During my research for this book, when I asked myself that question I admittedly picked Hinduism. To my surprise, its not Hinduism, Buddhism, nor Islam. The most globally diverse
religion in the world is Christianity!
The following maps display the global diversity of these four religions so that you may visualize the realization of Jesus promise that His gospel would go to the ends of the earth.

29

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF BUDDHISM

0.3%
0.8%

0.1%
<0.1%

98.7%

0.1%

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF HINDUISM

0.1%
0.2%

0.2%
0.2%

99.3%

0.1%

PEW FORUM

30

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF ISLAM

2.7%

19.8%

0.2%

61.7%

15.5%
0.1%

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY

25.7%

12.3%

0.6%

13.2%

23.8%
24.4%

PEW FORUM

We must keep in mind that these maps are generated from statistical data gathered by the
Pew Forum. This means that individuals were asked what religion they identified with. As
it has been demonstrated in this book, Europeans will likely still claim to be Christian without actually being Christian. Thus, the number for Europe is probably smaller. However,
Middle Easterners will likely not claim to be Christian while actually being Christian for
fear of persecution. Thus, the number for the Middle East is probably larger.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that when Jesus said His gospel was going to be taken to the
ends of the earth, He wasnt lying.
Christianity isnt dead. Its not even dying. Why? Because thats Jesus bride were talking
about. Shes alive and well.

32

WHY THIS IS GOOD NEWS

FOR THE GOOD NEWS
The decline of cultural Christianity shouldnt be viewed as a referable turn of events to
mourn. Just the opposite is true. As Christians living in America, we should rejoice that we
are being given the unique opportunity to clarify what it means to be a Christian more so
that any other generations before us.

33

The decline of cultural Christianity in the West is a call for us to return to the roots of the
faith, to the roots of the gospel, and to turn into what God has called us to be.
So, what does that mean for the western church practically?
First, we cannot look backwards and pine for the good ol days of American Christianity. We cannot wish for our culture to be like it was back in the day when cultural Christianity was at its peak.
Why? Because it is severely distracting to the forward advance of the gospel through the
church. Also, the Bible actually calls this unwise.
Ecclesiastes 7:10 Do not say, Why were the former days better than these? For it is not
from wisdom that you ask this.
We must be forward-thinking Christians for the gospel and Gods kingdom. If we want to
point people back to a specific point in time, we need to go back a lot further than the 1950s.
We need to go far beyond 1776. We need to go to the beginning of the first century - to the
person and work of Jesus, to the cross, and to his resurrection.
The 1950s were not the golden age of cultural Christianity. The 1770s were not the apex of
Christianity society. Those things are yet to come and it was started a long time ago - at the
cross. I cannot think of a better example of a forward-looking brother in Christ than a guy
named Joseph.

PASTOR JOSEPH
In Germany, I had a good friend named Joseph. He was a pastor from Lagos, Nigeria who
had death threats made against him, his brother, and twelve of his fellow pastors. They all
applied for asylum outside of Nigeria, but out of the fourteen only Joseph and his brother
were selected.

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His brother was sent to China and has not been heard from since. Joseph was sent to Germany. Upon his arrival in Europe, he learned from his aunt that all his fellow pastors were
murdered within a week of his departure.
When Joseph arrived in Germany, it was the middle of winter. It was cold, snowing, and he
didnt have a jacket. He had never left Nigeria in his life. He didnt know a word of German,
he was torn from all of his family and friends, and the only possessions he had were what he
could fit in a small backpack.
None of that mattered to him. He was mission-focused. Kingdom-focused. After a couple of
weeks, Joseph asked me if I could teach him some German. I started off by teaching him how
to talk about the weather and order food, but he became indignant.
No, no, no. he interrupted me. I dont care about all that!
Okay, I responded. What do you want to learn?
He didnt even hesitate. Teach me the word for gospel. Teach me the word for Jesus.
Teach me the word for God, sin, repentance, grace.
Thats all Pastor Joseph cared about. He later bought a German dictionary and began translating his Bible into German to learn the language, starting with verses he was using to evangelize.
When I asked him what he planned on doing in Germany long-term, he simply responded;

My friend, theres a lot of work to

be done for the gospel in this land.
Joseph was absolutely right. Theres a lot of work to be done not only in Europe, but America as well.
The type of work that needs to be done starts with us, the church, crying out to God in repentance and following the Holy Spirits guidance to get the word out about Jesus.
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MOVING FORWARD
How do we move forward? I think there are things that the church in America can learn
from European churches and from scripture.
We can learn from the European churches how they live in a culture that, more often than
not, marginalizes evangelical Christianity. Of all the living and vibrant churches in Europe
Ive seen, there are three things they all have in common:
1. They are big into preaching the gospel.
2. They are heavy into prayer and the Holy Spirit.
3. They are huge into biblical community.
The first two go without explanation, but the third is crucially important in a way that Im
not sure the church in America can appreciate just yet. It took a while of living in Europe to
figure out why the living and vibrant churches were so invested into community. Then, one
day, it hit me.
When you live in a culture where your faith is marginalized, the only place you can truly express it and let go and unwind is in community. Those churches value that and they see it as
very important to the life of the church and the lives of Christians.
So, what can we learn from scripture about moving forward? I think there are three things
that must be a part of our lives in order to experience a living and vibrant church in the
changing culture of our country.
1. Gospel and Children
2. Gospel and Family
3. Gospel and Community
These three things arent revolutionary, I know, but based on Deuteronomy 6:4-7 they are
powerful tools in maintaining our lives as salt and light to the world.

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Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And
these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children (gospel and children), and shall talk of them when you sit in your
house (gospel and family), and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and
when you rise (gospel and community).
1. TEACH THE GOSPEL TO OUR KIDS
We must teach the gospel to our kids. They must know who Jesus is.
The first thing that ancient Jews taught their kids was not the prophets (theology) nor Genesis (stories) but Leviticus! Thats crazy, right? Even as adults we shy away from Leviticus
due to its immense complexity, but it nonetheless demonstrates the character and holiness of
God.
Why did ancient Jews jump to Leviticus first? Because they wanted their kids to know Gods
character before knowing theology and what hes done.
Today, under the new covenant, the best way to demonstrate Gods character is through Jesus. The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the image of God and that the only way to understand God is through Jesus.
John 17:25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and
these know that you have sent me.
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
If we want our kids to know who God is, they need to meet Jesus.
2. LIVE THE GOSPEL OUT AT HOME
This will mean different things for different households. There is no one size fits all approach to living the gospel out in our homes, but there are common ways.

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The first is strong marriages. Husbands should be spiritual leaders, knowing that God has
given him a wife and children to whom he is held accountable for.
Second, what is our home life and God like? How often are we diving into scripture? What
is our prayer life like? These are the types of considerations we must give to our own home
life when considering
3. UNDERSTANDING BIBLICAL COMMUNITY AS CRUCIAL
Churches built with a firm biblical foundation of community seem to weather the storms of
cultural change better than those without. First understanding biblical community, that we
are made in the imago dei of a triune, communal God, is paramount. We must understand
how the Fall affected community starting with the broken relationships between Adam and
God (humanity and God) and Cain and Able (among each other). We must realize that only
God can heal community through His love, the Sons sacrifice and mediation, and the Spirits
conviction and guidance.
The church in America needs to reestablish the basis for community and articulate why it is,
and always has been, essential to the Christian life. Community involves sacrifice, patience,
and intentionality; therefore, our view of community must go past the scope of building a
sense of belonging, making church feel more intimate, or even the sustainment of attendance.
We need to promote, foster, and live in the eternal sense of community restored relationships with God and each other through the gospel.
CONCLUSION
Because European culture shifted away from cultural Christianity, there are now empty
churches that litter the European landscape. Empty churches, but the Church isnt empty.
American culture is, like Europe, beginning to leave cultural Christianity behind. This simply means that Christianity is going to be clarified in our country.

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To meet this change, we should look to churches that have gone through this similar change
and realize that they are;
1. Big into preaching the gospel.
2. Heavy into prayer and the Holy Spirit.
3. Huge into biblical community.
Also, we should look to scripture in order to find a pattern to emulate as we move forward.
Such a pattern can be found in the Shema (Deut. 6:47).
1. Teach the gospel to our kids
2. Live our the gospel at home
3. Understand that biblical community is crucial
All in all, this is a time to see Jesus name glorified. Never mind the potential of evangelical
Christianity being marginalized. Forget that our culture is shifting towards waters we know
the church will not tread. Understand that this is a time for Jesus name to be magnified
among His people. Know that even though there may be empty churches, the Church will
never be empty.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER TWO:
Charles Darwin quote Charles Darwin, The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Vol I., ed. Francis Darwin (London: D. Appleton and Company, 1919), 278.
Atheism in West & East Germany Tom W. Smith, Beliefs About God Across Time and Countries, National Opinion Research Center (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2012), 7.

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Observation One The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, The Global Religious Landscape, (Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2012); Church of England, Church Statistics 2010/2011, (London: Archbishops Council Research and Statistics, 2012); Evangelical Church in Germany, Facts and Figures, (Hannover:
Kirchenamt der EKD, 2011); Fdration Protestante de France, www.protestants.org
Observation Two European Value System Study Group, European Values Study, (Tilburg, Netherlands:
Tilburg University, 2008); The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, The Global Religious Landscape,
(Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2012); Exact Percentages: Austria - 32%, Belarus - 22.8%, Belgium 53%, Britain - 54%, Czech Republic - 57%, Croatia - 15.6%, Denmark - 32.9%, Estonia - 42%, Finland - 35.4%,
France - 60%, Germany - 48%, Greece - 6.6%, Hungary - 44%, Ireland - 13%, Italy - 16.3%, Latvia - 28.8%,
Lithuania - 13.6%, Netherlands - 46.2%, Luxembourg - 42%, N Ireland - 22.9%, Norway 41.6%, Poland 5.9%,
Portugal - 18.6%, Romania - 4.3%, Spain - 47.9%, Sweden - 53%, Switzerland - 37.6%, Ukraine - 19%
Observation Three The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, The Global Religious Landscape, (Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2012); Church of England, Church Statistics 2010/2011, (London: Archbishops Council Research and Statistics, 2012)
Global Growth of Islam A Picture of Islam, (Louisville, Kent.: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
2013)

CHAPTER THREE:
Did You Know: The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, The Global Religious Landscape, (Washington,
D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2012); Anne Harding, Study finds that 10% of tweens, teens have sexted,
CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/05/health/teens-sexting (accessed June 14, 2013); UNODC, Homicide Statistics 2012,
http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/Homicide_statistics2012.xls People
Press, http://www.people-press.org/2010/04/01/public-support-for-legalizing-medical-marijuana/, (accessed
June 14, 2013).
Disbelief By Generation General Social Surveys; The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, The Global
Religious Landscape, (Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2012)
Church Planting / U.S. Population Rebecca Barnes and Lindy Lowry, Special Report: The American
Church in Crisis, (Alpharetta, Geor.: Center for Missional Research, 2006); U.S. Census Bureau
Regional Distribution The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life, The Global Religious Landscape,
(Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, 2012)

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