We live in a time of radical church decline where one-third of religious buildings in Canada will be abandoned in the next 10-years.
Christians find themselves listening to pastors’ messages through a podcast or YouTube video rather than going to a physical church service. In light of the worldwide pandemic, churches all over the world moved their services online. This led Canadian pastor, speaker and author Kevin Makins to ask the question, does the church really matter?
In a time when the global church is changing to virtual services, Makins believes the church still matters, perhaps more than ever.
"At this moment in time, we feel lonely and disconnected," said Makins. "We live in this world of hyper-digital connection, but we're now realizing that digital connection alone isn't enough. We miss being with real people. We miss hugging people. We miss breaking bread or having a potluck with people. This time we're in now is a great reminder that the church has always offered what we need."
In his book, Why Would Anyone Go to Church? A Young Community’s Quest to Reclaim Church for Good, Kevin uses personal stories from his congregation and adds humour, to help people rediscover the primal elements of the Christian community, such as forgiveness, adventure, unity and participation, without glossing over any difficult issues.
“Our church community is asking pressing questions about what the Christian community will look like for the next generation, who the church will be for and why anyone would go to church,” said Makins. “Over the last decade of church planting, not only have we discovered that church still matters, but we’ve been learning that it may be more relevant than ever before.”
Today on Connections, Pastor Kevin Makins shares why church still matters, and how we can continue to help the church grow.