Can Death Give Way to New Life?

The Need for Planting New Churches and Campus Ministries

For over twenty years now, I have served as a minister of the gospel among the Churches of Christ with local congregations. I was raised in a Christian family that was members of a small Church of Christ in LaPorte, Indiana, and I committed my life to follow Jesus among a small Church of Christ in South Bend, Indiana, where I also sensed God’s call upon my life to serve vocationally as a minister of the gospel.

Like any denomination, the Churches of Christ has its strengths and weaknesses. I’m aware of the sectarianism and legalistic tendencies that have resulted in some unhealthy practices, but I’m also aware of the charitable and service-minded tendencies that have resulted in many good works. I only point that out to say that I neither view the Churches of Christ through a pollyanna lens nor through a pessimistic lens. That said, I have some concerns pertaining to the Churches of Christ.

I recently picked up a copy of Stanley E. Granberg’s book Empty Church, 2022. In the book, Granberg points out the numerical statistics that show a decline of 1,284,056 members and 13,027 congregations in 1990 to 1,113,362 members and 11,914 congregations in 2020.¹ As one who also serves as President of the Reflect Campus Missions board, I know that there are only approximately 145 campus ministries affiliated with the Churches of Christ, which means only a representation of on 2.6% of the roughly 5,500 Title IV institutions of higher education.

To put it bluntly, what most people already recognize, the Churches of Christ are declining. The reasons for this decline are varied, some having to do with particular issues germane to the Churches of Christ and other reasons relating to the cultural shifts taking place within American society (reasons why other denominations are in decline too). Because the reasons are varied and sometimes complex, there isn’t any quick-fix solution, and any attempt at a quick fix likely only creates more problems. One thing I am sure of is that complaining or simply trying to preserve/restore the 20th-century era of the Churches of Christ when we peaked numerically will only further the decline.

As most readers know, I believe part of the problem among Churches of Christ has been a legalistic reading of scripture that has become a hindrance to participation in the mission of God. I wrote a book called Gospel Portraits that was published last year, addressing how local churches might read the Bible in a Christ-centered and Kingdom-oriented manner so as to discern a contextualized participation in the mission of God.² Because the instruction of scripture is so important to Churches of Christ, developing a missional hermeneutic is part of the solution but certainly not exhaustive.

Another part of the solution is the need to plant new churches and new campus ministries. Besides my work with Reflect Campus Missions, I also do some work with Mission Alive. I want to briefly mention the vision of each organization because I believe God is opening space for a future through both organizations. Mission Alive “equips leaders to develop innovative communities of faith focused on transforming marginalized communities.”³ Reflect Campus Missions has a vision of “transforming students for Christ and planting vibrant campus missions.”

Here is the point I want to make: Almost every local Church of Christ is in decline, and many of these congregations will cease to exist in the next twenty-five years. But within the gospel is the belief that death gives way to new life. One way in which we see how death can give way to new life among the Churches of Christ is by planting new churches and campus ministries. How many new churches and campus ministries could the Churches of Christ help plant if every local congregation would dedicate 10% of its budget to the sending and support of missionaries to plant new churches and campus ministries?

Now here is the caveat: We must become comfortable with the reality that new church plants and new campus ministries will look different from churches and campus ministries that were planted during the 20th century. In part, the difference is that new churches and campus ministries must engage people living in the 21st century—not the 20th century. But I’ll also say that if we are only willing to plant new churches and campus ministries that look like those of the 20th century, then our motivation is the preservation of the past rather than participation in the mission of God, and that will fail. So please, consider supporting the planting of new churches and campus ministries, and if you want to know more, please contact me.

1. Stanley E. Granberg, Empty Churches: Why People Don’t Come and What To Do About It, 2022, 40.

2. K. Rex Butts, Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2022.

3. For more on what planting innovative faith communities means, read Tod Vogt, Innovative Faith Communities: Extending God’s Blessing of Help and Hope, Mission Alive Newsletter, April 26, 2023.