The document discusses the declining state of churches in Western societies and proposes that churches adopt a missional approach to remain relevant. It notes that church attendance has dropped significantly in recent decades in America, Britain, and Australia. Additionally, the majority of remaining churches are plateaued or declining. The document argues that churches should focus on building local relationships through activities like neighborhood mapping and missional communities in order to introduce more people to Christianity. Adopting this missional lifestyle of engaging with neighbors is presented as a key way for churches to reverse attendance trends.

1. Sunday, March 24, 13

2. How Any Church Can Become
a Missional Church:
Reaching People in a Post-Christian West Michigan
Sunday, March 24, 13

3. Missional: To live in such a way that God’s glory is
proclaimed and people are introduced to Jesus.
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4. e Problem
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5. e number of adults who do not attend church has
doubled since 1991.
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6. 3500 churches close their doors each year
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7. 80% of the remaining churches are plateaued
or declining
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8. “e combined impact of the Information
Age, Postmodern thought, globalization, and
racial ethnic pluralism that has seen the
demise of the grand American story also has
displaces the historic role the church played
in that story”-Mike Reagle, Researcher
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9. UK: 20 % Churched,
40 % De-churched,
40 % Unchurched
70 % of the population has no
intention of attending a church ever
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10. In America 1 out of 4 people has no
connection to church
In Great Britain it is 3 out of 4
In Australia church attendance declined from
35% in 1966 to 8% in 2001
e problem is that every trend says we are
moving toward being Great Britain
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11. American Unchurched by Race:
-African Americans (25%)
-Whites (32%)
-Hispanics (34%).
-Asians (63%)
-Single adults (37%)
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12. If the unchurched population of the United States
were a nation of its own, that group would be the
twelfth most populated nation on earth.
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13. Liquefaction
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14. "I respect your convictions but I cannot allow you to
put God's law over your country's." - a Vermont judge
to a Mennonite pastor
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15. “In Great Britain it is easier to come out as a
homosexual in the workplace than it is to come out
as a Christian”-Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
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16. What doesn’t work anymore
(or won’t for most of us)
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17. Stylistic solutions
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18. “Cool Churches”
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19. “Church Like You’ve Never Seen it”
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20. Sunday, March 24, 13

21. e 40/60 Factor
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22. Sunday, March 24, 13

23. “Every current poll I’ve seen indicates the American
church is in decline. Yes, the number of large
churches is increasing, but overall church attendance
continues to go down. e way we do church—the
model of Christendom that has been followed for the
past 1,700 years—is working with fewer people all
the time. Most people reading this are the product of
the type of church that is, as a whole, becoming less
and less effective.” -Tim Stevens (Mega-Church
Guru)
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24. Sunday, March 24, 13

25. Sunday, March 24, 13

26. e Christian Bubble and
the Culture War
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27.
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28. A culture war mentality says that those people are
the bad guys and we are the good guys.
A gospel mentality says that we are the bad guys and
Jesus is THE good guy who rescues bad guys.
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29. Victims?
Or the rescue squad.
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30. 1 Peter 1:1-3, 2:9-11
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31. To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in
the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to
Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood...
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32. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for his own possession, that you
may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you
out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you
were not a people, but now you are God's people;
once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy.
Sunday, March 24, 13

33. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to
abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage
war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the
Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against
you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and
glorify God on the day of visitation..
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34. Break
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35. What we are NOT talking about
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36. Mobilizing people for
everyday mission.
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37. Key Components
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38. Commitment to Local
Relationships
Community on Mission
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39. Sunday, March 24, 13

40. Sunday, March 24, 13

41. Neighborhood Mapping
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42. Break
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43. Sunday, March 24, 13

44. Spheres of Influence
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45. Sunday, March 24, 13

46. Missional Journaling
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47. What are you already
doing?
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48. Missional Communities
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49. Exponential
Multiplication
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50. Missional Leadership
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51. Time + Intentionality = Discipleship
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52. Questions?
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