Christians can be so, well, glum, when it comes to ‘the world'. We think no one is interested in Jesus. We think it's all bad. Too bad, because this is the world Jesus died for, Jesus loves and the world that we live in. That's why I love to think again when it comes to our world view.
Although by most data, over 90% of people in their twenties don't go to church in Canada, they are more spiritually open than you might think. Ed Stetzer released some interesting information about Canadian young adults this month. Look at what he found:
- 75% of younger unchurched Canadians agree that church is generally helpful to society
- 78% agree that God actually exists
- 50% agree that Jesus died and came back to life
- 51% say they would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked them to
Did you read that? Seriously. Did you see it? They may not go to church, but our friends and neighbours are far more open to God, Christ and church than we might think. Oh my goodness, half of them would even study the bible if someone asked them to. Seriously!
Now, the question for you and I is this: what will we do in light of this?
What excites me is that for many of you, this is your story. You didn't go to church, but you were open to a relationship with God. A friend brought up spiritual things in conversation, invited you to church, and now you're in a group, serving and either exploring what it would mean to be a Christian or you're in a relationship with Christ. Some of you are being baptized this summer. Awesome!
Question: what's keeping you and I from opening a spiritual dialogue with someone we know this week? Why not ask them about God? Why not invite someone you know to church this weekend?
Plus…we always try to make it easy to attend. If you were at Connexus yesterday, then you know this Sunday, June 20th, we're asking everyone to wear flip flops. Why? For fun (don't be late) and because we want everyone to know that you definitely don't need to dress up to go to church anymore.
– Carey