If Present Trends Continue
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 10:12AM 
I heard John Stackhouse last week at Heritage Seminary in Cambridge. Stackhouse is professor of theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver.
Stackhouse commented on church trends in Canada. You may know that they're generally not good. Some evangelicals are making headway, but church attendance overall is down.
What does this signal for the future? When Stackhouse is asked to make predictions, he says, "If present trends continue - and they won't..." and then says whatever he likes. His point is a good one: beware of reading history as a straight or single line, or thinking that present trends will continue.
Here's what's interesting: Stackhouse said that before Confederation (in 1867) the vast majority did not attend church. By Confederation, 90% did. The church was somehow able to buck the trends and make vast inroads into the culture.
Obviously times have changed, and we're facing new challenges. But maybe we need to be a little bolder in what we're praying for. I'm pretty excited about the challenges and opportunities of ministry in Canada right now, and it was good to be reminded that the opportunities may be even greater than we realize.
Reader Comments (6)
Darryl,Did he go into detail about what happened to turn the trend around between pre and post-Confederation?
Michael:No, he didn't give much more information than that. I'd love to find out more.
i'm excited about the opportunities as well. and yes, things don't have to always go where they're heading.
Darryl, is this the sermon you twittered that he stated that the #1 challenge to the church is minor hockey? If so, I was wondering he expanded on that at all...
Jacob:The hockey comment came up in Q&A. The day was mostly on the relationship of faith to culture. I hope they make the audio available.
Yes, let's trust God's Word, pray with faith, love radically, live holy lives, and preach the gospel boldly. I really believe that there are many people seeking God. We need to fear God, not people, and "not [be] ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16).