The Rise of the Nones

by Larry Barker

The religious climate has been changing for years and is quite alarming. Surveys report that on any given Sunday only 17% of the population is in church. Some believe that America has all the churches it needs, but the exact opposite is true: Surveyors predict that by 2050, North America will need 300,000 to 400,000 new churches – double the number – just to keep up with population growth. Seven American states qualify as unreached people groups with only 2% of their populations being evangelical. Missiologists state that it requires at least 10% of a people group to effectively evangelize their neighbors.

This makes a dangerous assumption that only 10% are doing the work of evangelism. In reality, only 3-5% of believers are actively sharing their faith. 

A new study takes a deeper look at what are being described as the “nones.” In 1972 only 5% of Americans claimed “no religion” on general social surveys, but in 2018 that number rose to 23.7%. This makes the “nones” as numerous as evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics put together. Every indication is that the “nones” will be the largest group in the United States in the next decade!

In The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, author Ryan Burge digs deep into what Christians need to know to more effectively reach this new, ever-increasing demographic group. Dan White, Jr. recently tweeted, “The church has tried to do so much of its mission from the stage! We need a break from the stage in order to reorient us to the streets.” Will Mancini challenges us with this thought: “Church has to be more than a show on Sunday with a few hooks in the water!” How do we get back to the mission of God in local neighborhoods and reach communities with the gospel? 

Recommit to making disciples from where we work, live, and play.  

God strategically positions us in the right places, at the right times, with the right people. Do you have a discipleship pathway that equips, empowers, and releases your church to make disciples in the coffee shops, at the ball fields, and in the homes of their neighbors? The time has come to not only have program-driven discipleship but to train our people to be ready and prepared to disciple when God opens the door. Also, know that just because people are going to church does not mean they are believers or are growing in Christ.

We must begin praying continually for our communities. Prayer is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do. I was too young when I began pastoring my first church, but God convicted me recently that He called me and He placed me there. He loves using us before we feel like we are ready and loves using us after we think we are done.  God loves using us in our weaknesses because that is when He receives the most glory. The key is your willingness to prayerfully submit to His voice. Pray for discernment in having the right motives, actions, and message.

Then give the “nones” and others all the wrong reasons to show up. Ryan Burge shared that theologians think primarily vertically while political science thinks horizontally. While you should not stop focusing on theology, the challenge is to begin focusing on loving those around us as Christ desires us to love them. You can be theologically sound and culturally relevant, but if you are only vertically focused you can miss opportunities to be Christ to others (i.e., the Good Samaritan!). Maybe people come to church for the wrong reasons – a meal or other event – but then the Holy Spirit uses that draw them.

Have you lost your credibility as living, acting, and reacting like the body of Christ God has called you to do? Studies say that people believe your message based on your actual words (7%), your tone (38%), and your body language (55%).  

Church, what does your body language say to the world and your community? Can they see that your actions are giving credibility to what you say you believe?  Are you acting and reacting to the culture in a supernatural, biblical manner? Jesus said we are to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who persecute us. How are you doing at that?

Reacting to the world in a Christian manner is counterintuitive and counter reactive. How do you do that?  Mark Batterson says, “We absorb the sinful, hurtful energy of others and convert it into a righteous response. Being treated wrongly becomes a catalyst for prayer. Nothing reconditions our spiritual reflexes like prayer!”  

Grace means I will love you no matter what, and truth means I’ll be honest with you no matter what. It always circles back to prayer, so you must pray for discernment to be both wise and harmless. How can your church best honor and glorify God in your present situation?

Love on people who are far from God with no expectations and no strings attached. Allow God to show you ways to demonstrate His love in practical ways. Allow the “body language” of your church to remind the people in your community that the church is a force for good and that it does create a world less awful. The light may seem dim, but imagine what it would be without any light!  

(Other resources include the following: The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon, Future Church by Will Mancini and Cory Hartman.)