Forty percent of American adults didn’t read a single book in 2021. Among young men, the numbers are even more dire—leisure reading has plummeted 40% over the past two decades, with many spending hours daily on TikTok but unable to finish a paragraph without reaching for their phones. This isn’t just a cultural curiosity. It’s […]
Can Reading Fix Young Men? Why Biblical Literacy Is a Discipleship Crisis Read More »
We’ve optimized the wrong metric. American churches have spent the last decade chasing engagement—likes, shares, impressions—while actual discipleship has flatlined. The Barna Group reports that only 25% of self-identified Christians regularly read their Bible, and church attendance has dropped below 50% for the first time in American history. Yet our social media feeds are polished,
Why Your Church’s Instagram Won’t Make Disciples Read More »
Every year, thousands of pastors dream of planting a church. They write vision statements, raise support, scout locations, and launch with excitement. Then, five years later, over 50% of those churches have closed their doors or plateaued into irrelevance. What’s going wrong? And more importantly—what’s the biblical alternative? The Copy-Paste Problem Jeff Hoglen, a veteran
Why Most Church Plants Fail (And How to Build One That Multiplies) Read More »
The most dangerous phrase in church planting isn’t ‘we don’t have enough money’ or ‘we can’t find a building.’ It’s this: ‘Pastor knows best.’ Over the past three decades, a quiet revolution has reshaped the healthiest growing churches in America—and it has nothing to do with worship styles, sermon series, or social media strategy. According
Why Shared Leadership Unleashes Church Multiplication Read More »
What we’re discovering about church planting in the CRC—and why we can’t stop trying The Conversation That Keeps Happening It usually starts over coffee. Or after a service. Or in a text message that reads: “Can we talk about your church planting vision?” I’ve had this conversation dozens of times now. Sometimes it’s with a
Rick Warren posted five words last week that should haunt every pastor in America: “Stop attending church and start being the church.” Over 40,000 people shared it. Millions nodded. And then Sunday came, and most of them sat in the same seat, watched the same show, and drove home unchanged. Here’s the uncomfortable math. According
What If Every Christian Made Just One Disciple? Read More »
A post went viral on Reddit this week. The title was simple: “I was an atheist for 20 years. Got baptized last Sunday.” Thousands of upvotes. Hundreds of comments from people sharing their own stories of coming to faith later in life. Strangers weeping at their keyboards. It was beautiful. And it should terrify us.
An Atheist Got Baptized After 20 Years — Now What? Read More »
Here’s a number that should wreck every comfortable Christian in America: 365 million believers worldwide face high levels of persecution for their faith. According to Christianity Today’s latest global persecution report, the church is under fire in ways most of us can’t imagine. House churches raided. Pastors imprisoned. Bibles confiscated. Families torn apart for the
365 Million Persecuted Christians Are Growing the Church Faster Than We Are Read More »
Something unexpected is happening right now. The generation that pollsters call “the least religious in American history” is also the most spiritually hungry. Gen Z is walking away from church buildings — but they are not walking away from God. And if we’re honest, the question that should keep every pastor, every small group leader,