Tough Questions: Can we reverse Church decline in the West?
Reflections
“Can church decline be reversed in the West? That depends on whether we can recover our confidence in the message that has been entrusted to us,” says The Rev’d Charlie Lacey from St Andrew’s, Springfield
It is well documented that Christianity in the Western world is in decline. Is this an unavoidable and irreversible trend to which we must resign ourselves, or might we hope for, and work towards, a very different picture? To help us answer this, let us begin by asking a different question, namely, ‘Could a tiny group of Jesus’ followers in the first century have organised a mission that would eventually lead to the Christianisation of the Roman World?’ History replies with a resounding ‘yes’. And perhaps Jesus would respond to both situations by reminding us, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19.26).
The phrase, ‘Church decline’, is itself a misnomer. The true Church of Jesus Christ includes every follower of Jesus alive today, as well as everyone who has ever belonged to Jesus, including those saved by grace prior to his coming into the world. When a Christian dies, they do not cease to be part of the Church, rather they await Jesus’ return when they will be raised to new and everlasting life. The decline of the church is therefore an impossibility. If only one person in the world where to give their life to Jesus over the course of the next year, the Church will have grown by a factor of one.
However, we should not use this knowledge as a cop out. Jesus has not given up on building his Church and neither should we. So, what lessons can we learn from the rapid expansion of the early Church in the first century? Firstly, the primary concern of the Apostles was proclaiming the gospel, which is neatly summarised in John 3.16 and the creeds. Jesus died for our sins and without him we are lost and eternally separated from God. The core message of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus must remain front and centre. In recent decades, many churches have been distracted by other agendas, sometimes at the expense of the gospel itself.
Of course, the outworkings of the gospel in a believer’s life are manifold. Should we feed the hungry? Yes! Should we welcome strangers? Yes! Should we care for the sick and the dying? Yes! Should we visit prisoners? Again, an emphatic yes! Jesus commanded us to do these things and true discipleship necessitates them. However, the core business of the Church is to bring people to repentance and faith in Jesus, that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit and led to a life of true discipleship.
When it comes to sharing the gospel, we live at a time of unprecedented opportunity. There is an emerging generation that, by and large, has almost no understanding of the Christian message; we are bombarded with a confusing array of new ideas and philosophies; and, in a world that seems more chaotic by the day, many are beginning to doubt humanity’s ability to fix things. In short, there is a dearth of hope and a hunger for truth. A relatively recent survey conducted by NCLS suggests that 37% of Australians would likely accept an invitation to a church service, if asked by a close friend or family member.
Can Church decline be reversed in the West? That depends on whether we can recover our confidence in the message that has been entrusted to us.
First published on the St Andrew’s, Springfield website in August 2024.
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