I think most of us would agree that the church in the West is in increasingly poor shape today. Therapy has replaced actually knowing God, spirituality has displaced theology, the tyranny of activity limits day-to-day discipleship, marketing trumps mission, entertainment has replaced prayer, reinvention sounds more appealing than revival, and worldliness has enveloped American Christianity. But, friends, this is not the first time that the church has been under attack, nor will it be the last. G.K. Chesterton noted, “At least five times the Faith has to all appearances gone to the dogs. In each of these five cases, it was the dog that died.”
Jesus promised Peter in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church. I once heard a pastor compare the church to a jack-in-the-box, springing to life and then seeming to disappear at times. In many ways we are just like ancient Israel, fickle in our affections, attracted to the surrounding culture and forgetful of the great and mighty work of God. As such we, like them, often fail to raise the next generation to fear Him (Psalm 78).
It has been said that the church is always one generation from extinction, and when we read statistics about how many young people are leaving the church today it can be tempting to throw in the towel and lose hope. And I confess to you that I can be as pessimistic and cynical as anyone, but I firmly believe that the Lord is winding the jack-in-the-box once again. The music is starting to play, and with each rotation of the lever the gospel is set to spring forth in renewed power.
Despite the many criticisms that are levied against this millennial generation, God is graciously raising up a group of committed believers. Every Wednesday night there are 30-50 college students that cram into my basement for prayer and study. It really is a fascinating thing to behold. We do nothing that church marketers tell us we need to do to reach this generation. We have no Facebook page, show no movies, or use entertainment to draw them. Instead, we gather for prayer and teach verse by verse through books of the Bible (sometimes teaching for an hour while they sit on the floor as the summer temperature in the basement reaches 80 degrees). Many of them have committed themselves to memorizing scripture together and have memorized all of Romans 8, Hebrews 12, Ephesians 1 and scores of other verses. They pray for one another, fellowship together, and encourage each other. Weekly they tell stories of sharing the Gospel to classmates, co-workers, and even professors. These are all things I struggle to get seasoned believers to do!
This occurs every Wednesday night from 8:30-11:00 and has been a great encouragement to me as I watch another generation delight in the Lord, in His Word, and in His people. There is always a remnant, friends, and despite the temptation to look at the building storm clouds in this culture, every Wednesday night in a basement there gathers, so to speak, a pile of stones serving as a reminder of God’s faithful promise to never desert His bride. The church will always spring back because no power on earth can keep the gospel down. Please pray for these young people as they take the hope of the gospel to their campuses and work places as they partner with you in the gospel.
