As you read through this research, keep in mind the big picture. What is the trajectory for the conventional church?

From a research perspective, the following were chosen primarily because of what they contributed to the topic of conventional church trajectory, beginning as early as 1911. It does not have anything to do with if a person likes or does not like these people or their denominational affiliation.

WHITE predicted the current trend of people separating themselves from churches.

In 1911 Ellen White wrote,

“. . . there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His Word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming.” Great Controversy, p. 464 (italics supplied).

Notice what she said and what she did not say:

• “Among the people of the Lord” – This revival is not limited to a specific denomination; it includes people of any denomination and people of no denomination.
• “Many . . . will gladly accept those great truths.” She does not say people will switch denominations or become members of a certain denomination.  She says they “will gladly accept those great truths.” Truth seekers or spiritual seekers accept Biblical truth – as a message. In another place, White says, “Men will come into the truth who will work with earnestness and zeal, tact and understanding. Let none discourage these zealous workers.” (Pacific Union Recorder, October 23, 1902.) These people accept and “come into the truth”– “those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time”– those truths which represent a message, not necessarily a membership.
• Keep reading to see how research is confirming this 1911 prediction.

GRAHAM warns the church of likely church attendance mega-shift.

In 1965 Billy Graham warned,

“Multitudes of Christians within the church are moving toward the point where they may reject the institution that we call the church. They are beginning to turn to more simplified forms of worship. They are hungry for a personal and vital experience with Jesus Christ. They want a heartwarming personal faith. Unless the church quickly recovers its authoritative Biblical message, we may witness the spectacle of millions of Christians going outside the institutional church to find spiritual food.” World Aflame: The Inadequacy of Modern Religion, p. 87.

BARNA’s research confirms cultural mega-shift

In 2005 George Barna wrote, “Well over 20 million have left the church to ‘go find God.”

“The Revolutionary mindset is simple: Do whatever it takes to get closer to God and to help others to do the same.  Obliterate any obstacle that prevents you from honoring God with every breath you take. Be such an outstanding example of the Christian faith that no one will question your heart or lifestyle–except those who see institutional survival as equally or more important than the alleged influence of the institution they defend. Or, put more succinctly, the Revolution is about recognizing that we are not called to go to church. We are called to be the Church.”  Revolution, p. 3.

PACKARD’s research verifies mega-shift away from conventional church attendance

In their new book, Church Refugees: Sociologists Reveal Why People Are DONE With Church but Not Their Faith, Dr. Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope set out to understand the widespread phenomenon of church decline.

Their latest research verifies that of the 318 million people in America, approximately 104 million (33%) have left the church.

“Our interviews indicate that the dechurched are among the most dedicated people in any congregation. They often work themselves into positions of leadership in an attempt to fix the things about the church that dissatisfy them before ultimately deciding their energies could be better spent elsewhere. In other words, the dechurched were the ‘doers’ in their congregations.” p. 23.

Where are these people going?  “The dechurched tend to construct church alternatives through political and civic engagements, small groups or house churches, or informal but spiritually meaningful gatherings” p. 68.

“As our society approaches a post-institutional era it’s entirely possible the near monopoly that the church has enjoyed over faithful expressions and religious connections may be coming to an end.  The activities of the dechurched may be ushering in a new understanding of what religious activity means.  If this trend continues, it will fundamentally reshape the way Americans experience organized religion” p. 69.

HIRSCH validates mega-shift

“Of 318 million Americans, 208 million (about 60%) are not interested in walking into the front doors of a conventional church.” Watch video clip.

The elephant in the room asks, “If conventional churches, of all faith persuasions, are focused on the same 40%, who will reach the 60%?“

Before unpacking a “whole new model,” we must emphasize: This cultural mega-shift is not necessarily the church’s fault.

No, not necessarily. Our world is experiencing a global mega-shift that is affecting both religious and secular systems. Here are a few secular examples, listing both the conventional systems and their counterpart systems:

Typically, cultural trends start in Western Europe and take about 10-15 years to sweep through North America. Then generally it takes another 10-15 years for these trends to move to the Global South (Africa, South America, and Asian cultures). Urban centers of the Global South realize the effect more quickly, thanks to the internet and mobile devices.

No matter where you live in the world, this mega-shift has arrived or is coming. Why fight it when we can learn how to work with it, for Kingdom purposes?

Anticipate something very different.

As hard as it may be to understand, the rules have changed. Organic systems operate by a different set of rules and assumptions.

The business world is calling this a “Dual Operating System.” Cutting edge businesses are hiring a young entrepreneurial workforce and telling them,

Your job is to accomplish the same goal/mission/end-product, but you have the freedom to design an all-new operating system that will work in today’s world.

Unfortunately, conventional systems, both religious and secular, too often respond to organic systems by focusing on their institutional preservation.

Typically, this leads to a tendency to push back and fight against these global trends, using policy to enforce their existing system.

Conventional systems do not have to be afraid of this global mega-shift. They will have to learn how to work with them.

As Clay Shirky (in the video below) points out, the sooner “Institutional” systems are willing to understand and work with “Cooperative Collaboration” systems, the better.

Anticipate something very different.

Personal and/or institutional assumptions are often buried in personal and/or institutional blind spots.

Over the years, we have learned about a handful of institutional assumptions that typically make it difficult for both religious and secular leadership to grasp the depth of implication in how “Cooperative Collaborative” systems work.

To emphasize, these assumptions and blind spots, which often lead to misunderstandings, are not necessarily anyone’s fault. It is the way institutional systems have trained us. Articulating our spoken and unspoken assumptions does provide an opportunity to interact with other systems and see things from different perspectives.

Common institutional assumptions include:

1) If we vote it, approve it, list it, and/or claim it, we own and control it.

2) If it is successful, it must “normalize” or align with our existing policies and procedures.

3) Institutional preservation is a higher priority than missional effectiveness (see Clay Shirky’s video below).

Simple Church missionaries have had to unlearn much of what was taught by conventional systems. The following may seem common fare, but it goes way beyond mere rhetoric.

In Simple Church, there is

No stage, no prestige, no political power, and no board meetings.

No ladder to climb, no monetary gain, and no titles.

Just hard and humble work that makes a significant Kingdom difference as we accept God’s invitations to join Him in His missionary work.

Simple Church Values . . .

1. Primacy of Scripture
   
2. Sustainability
3. Exponential 
reproducibility
4. Cost effectiveness
5. Missional effectiveness
6. Purposeful sharing of the Everlasting Gospel

The Simple Church Global 
Network

We CONNECT lay people with other Truth-seekers, no matter what their faith or no-faith background has been. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).

We HELP lay people sort through the myriad of non-biblical church traditions that have slowly worked their way into popular Christianity and institutional churches.

We NETWORK lay people with other Simple Church planters around the world.

Anticipate something very different.

Lay people who contact Simple Church usually want to be equipped for front-line missionary work on behalf of their family, neighbors, and friends who may be “tripping over” church politics or traditions. If you are a layperson in this category, feel free to email Milton Adams (miltonadams@adamsonline.org). Better yet, start the online training.

Simple Church offers consultant services to church entities and other mission-minded organizations around the world. For those who are supportive of Simple Church planters and want to work with them and learn with them, Simple Church provides a way for each entity to directly network with Simple Church planters in their area. This is done through a custom online account in the Simple Church Global Network database.

Please read this web page in its entirety, both what is above and watch the two videos below.

You will find several resources: video clips, articles, etc. Please take the time to learn what we have been un-learning for over a decade in order to design a “whole new model” that effectively reaches secular and/or unchurched people in a wide variety of cultures and people groups.

Then, feel free to email Milton Adams: miltonadams@adamsonline.org.

A Short Biography:

Milton Adams is a missionary and director of the Simple Church Global Network. Prior, he spent 15 years pastoring churches in the Northwest before transitioning to teaching.

As part of the original team of families, he and his wife, have a passion to reach the modern mission field, which now represents millions of people who are either done with “church” or are leaving the churches to pursue God and spirituality without all the religious accessories.

His award-winning doctorate from Andrews University focused on the development of this global network.

He enjoys working with church leaders around the world and re-empowering missionary-minded families and individuals who love Jesus and want to share the Everlasting Gospel with their secular and/or unchurched friends.

Through the dedication and commitment of hundreds, and now thousands, of missionaries around the world, this network now serves house churches in 50 countries.

Anticipate something very different, a “whole new model” for reaching today’s secular and/or unchurched people.