Leaning Into Church Future

By Matt Reffie

For many Christians today the world seems to be in a stage of turmoil. For some, this is the necessary groaning and pains the world must endure before experiencing the full salvation of Christ. For others, it seems to be an unfortunate regression of society which will take us further and further away from The Way of Christ and possibly take generations to recover from. Regardless of one’s perspective, our shared reality at the moment is still one of turmoil; where nothing seems to be as it should and there is little certainty in forging a way forward in our respective life-goals. But in the midst of all this uncertainty and fear for the world, our Christian communities, and loved ones, there are many Christians forging their way forward as they feel God lead in old, new, and often unconventional ways.

So what is God doing amongst us that we might be missing in the cacophony of social and political unrest?

Here are seven current examples which may just help lead us into a brighter and more stable spiritual future.

The conventional understanding of the past ten to fifteen years has been that America’s youth are ‘forsaking the gathering’ and leaving their churches in droves. Statistically this has been true, but the missing piece that has since been realized is that this mass exodus has not been young people leaving their Christian faith, but rather finding new ways of expressing it. There was once a time where opportunities to learn, grow, and express your Christian faith were limited to local congregations and denominations. Beyond the walls of established churches and seminaries was a large void, sparsely populated with parachurch ministries, spiritual gurus, and nonprofits. But now there are a vast host of digital spaces and tools filling the void that we should familiarize ourselves with and seek out which we’re called to partake in or support.

1. PUBLIC READING OF SCRIPTURE (prsi.org)

Inspired by the call in 1 Timothy 4:13 to “...devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” PRS is a ministry that inspires and supports small groups all over the world to hold public meetings (in-person and online) where the Scriptures are read out loud and meditated on before giving way to a brief time of sharing and discussion. It’s a simple formula, but is calling thousands of Christians to return to this oft neglected practice. The ministry includes guides, ways to connect with others locally, free professional dramatic readings of Scripture and more, all through a convenient mobile app (prsi.org/en/app).

2. COMMON PRAYER DAILY (commonprayerdaily.com)

Bringing the traditional practice of shared daily liturgical prayer fully into modern practice, this ministry produces a guided audio prayer every morning for thousands of Christians to join in “...an ancient liturgical tradition that grounds the individual and prepares their heart by focusing on Christ.”[1] There are a great many similar prayer apps and podcasts available if a liturgical style isn’t what connects you to God best, but it would be well worth trying out for a season regardless of existing spiritual rhythms.

3. THE BIBLE PROJECT (bibleproject.com)

Though The Bible Project is well-known to many, I believe it is one of the best Christian resources available today. Focused on teaching the Bible as ‘a unified story,’ they produce tons of educational videos for all ages, deep yet accessible Bible exposition podcasts, teaching articles and resources, and even some online Bible classes. With over 5 million subscribers, they are helping make it perhaps easier than ever for people to engage the Scriptures in new ways. So, the next time you’re studying a particular book or approaching a specific Biblical topic, see what materials the Bible Project has already put together for you. Such resources were at one time only available through seminaries, special programs, and Christian bookstores- but now they’re available on your smartphone, computer, or tablet for free.

4. PRACTICING THE WAY (practicingtheway.org)

One of the key things missing for young Christians operating outside of their traditional church settings has been finding some kind of alternative structure for expressing their faith. This, and other ministries like it, have sprung up to help fill that gap and “... help [individuals and] communities integrate the practices and rhythms of Jesus and his earliest followers, creating space for the Holy Spirit to form people of depth and love.”[2] Practicing the Way is a comprehensive online program for finding your way in Christ, in both ideals and practice, while in community with like-minded believers. Currently, over one thousand churches and ten thousand Christians are using these free resources to give meaningful structure to their faith journeys. Whether you are engaged in a traditional church setting or practicing outside of one, there is likely much here which could aid and enrich your own spiritual community.

5. XP CHURCH (xpchurch.com)

Many of us were introduced to virtual church gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic, but did you know there are hundreds of virtual-only church gatherings online, some of them even happening within the virtual worlds of video games? XP Church is one such church. It was born of a desire to“...reach gamers all over the world with the gospel”[3] and has grown from live streaming Gospel-related content while playing popular video games to regularly meeting virtually as an official church on the connecting platform Discord. Through weekly gamer-related sermons, Twitch streams, and Discord small groups, they reach roughly thirty thousand gamers young and old who may not be as likely to thrive in a traditional church setting.

6. EVERYCAMPUS (everycampus.com)

Many of us had the benefit of a college ministry or church presence at our universities, but there are still a lot of campuses without any formal or widespread Christian ministries. Putting technology to work for the Kingdom, EveryCampus is “...a digital, movement accelerating platform to mobilize intercession and launch gospel communities.”[4] It’s a structured platform for identifying campuses lacking in active ministry communities and using the power of prayer to bring new ministries to fruition. By simply entering your zip code into the map, you can see which campuses in your locale are in need. You can then download a ‘Prayer Walk’ guide to use to pray for a vibrant ministry community on that campus.

7. EVERYDAY CHRISTIAN INFLUENCERS (ie. tiktok.com/tag/christiansoftiktok)

There are currently tens of thousands of Christians young and old sharing their faith and walk on various social media platforms. In a recent Barna survey, 29% of the American teens contacted said they “...run a social-media account where [they] mostly post Christian content,” compared to only 17% of adults who said they “...post or share about religion on social media.”[5] When you start to look in the right places, you actually find a rich wealth of Christians sharing and talking about their faith in these digital arenas. One stand-out example is the #JesusChangedMyLife movement, which began during the 2023 Easter season. Christians across Instagram and other platforms all shared personal stories about how Jesus impacted their lives using this hashtag. The initial movement consisted of tens of thousands posting 60-second videos sharing their testimonies and inviting their friends, families, and followers to join them for Easter services. This hashtag and others like it continue to compile uplifting, fun, and challenging Christian content in new and more expansive ways.

These seven highlights are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to connections and resources God is building through digital spaces. (Notice I hadn’t even yet mentioned the Project Arctos Workshops, Articles Archive, KRC Chinese/English Article Archive, or Project Arctos Articles Podcast.) Like most things, they are only useful when they are properly enjoyed and utilized. Take some time today to explore at least one or two of these. What gaps currently exist in your own spiritual resources, and what tools might God already be building to fill them? Also consider where ministries like these may fit into your annual giving. As more and more people tend to fall into the gaps between churches, these vital void-fillers can be powerful life-lines when they have our support.

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Matt Reffie is a full-time minister with Project Arctos and Kingdom Resources for Christ (e-krc.org/en). He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Audrey, and has a masters in Church History from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, with which he enjoys looking at contemporary issues in Christianity from a historical perspective. He also runs an antiques website specializing in historical documents, photography, and vintage advertising called EphemeraFinds.com.

Sources

1.       https://www.commonprayerdaily.com/

2.       https://www.practicingtheway.org/about

3.       https://xpchurch.com/

4.       https://everycampus.com/our-strategy/

5.       Barna ‘State of the Church 2025 – Digital Faith Habits’ webinar (aired 4 April 2025).

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