Evangelism Going Out of Fashion?

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Mark 16:15

The Barna Group recently released a new report: Reviving Evangelism, which revealed that almost half of American Christians between the ages of 23 and 38 think it’s wrong to share their faith.

This age group — most popularly known as Millennials — will soon become the largest generation around the world. Many have already taken leadership positions within Christian organizations.

Jesus clearly left the command to go and tell.

So why do Millennials think it’s wrong to evangelize?

Many pastors, parents, talk show hosts, reporters and others ponder this question.  

Maybe Millennials don’t want to be called judgmental in our world that puts such an emphasis on tolerance and acceptance.

One article pointed out that Millennials do take their faith seriously but place a higher value on actions than words.

A pastor shared his theory that those in Generation X and older have a better grasp of doctrine. Whereas, Millennials may be better at loving their community. He calls this the I John 4:6-7 gap.

Still another thought is that this age group doesn’t realize how loving it really is to share the gospel.

One of the most interesting ideas I heard is that Millennials go it alone more than any other generation. They are more likely to stream sermons instead of actually going to church. When they do attend church, they might visit different ones and never plug in to community.

I was guilty of this as a single adult. I attended my home church on Sunday mornings and a different church on Sunday evenings. Other weeks, I might attend a special service midweek at a third church.

One takeaway I see is that we all need to invest in personal relationships. We can’t live the Christian life alone. If we try, we will certainly miss or misinterpret Biblical commands and doctrine.

Whose life are you investing in right now?

Stacy