ARE WE A PEOPLE AT HALF TIME? - Leadership Network

THE 21 st CENTURY
is going to be more like the
first century than any
of the intervening 2,000
years and the 21st century
church is going to more
resemble the first century
church than in any previous
period in church history.
George Hunter has written
a significant book for leaders
of the 21st century church
in which he describes the
characteristics and
approaches to mission and
ministry that are reflected in
an increasing number of
churches he calls “new
apostolic congregations.” We
thank the publisher,
Abingdon Press, for the use
of excerpts from church for
the unchurched.
THE STAFF OF LEADERSHIP NETWORK
INSIDE NEXT
COVER STORY
church for the unchurched
■
A SPECIAL FAREWELL (page 4)
■
BOOMERS & BUSTERS (page 5)
■
FAX FORUM RESULTS (page 5)
■
FAX FORUM (page 6)
■
NETFAX (page 7)
■
LEADERSHIP NETWORK
RECOMMENDS (page 8 and 9)
■
THE BOOKSHELF (page 10)
■
WEB.WATCH (page 11)
■
FORUMS (page 12)
■
LAY MOBILIZATION (page 12)
■
EXTRAS (page 12)
V O L U M E 2 , N U M B E R 2 A U G U S T , 1 9 9 6
F R O M L E A D E R S H I P N E T W O R K
CHURCH FOR THE UNCHURCHED
by George G. Hunter, III
The Christian movement now faces its
greatest opportunity in the Western
world in the last three centuries. Today, we
find the real future of Christianity modeled
in pioneering local churches.
Our New “Apostolic Age”
The shape of the Church’s emerging
opportunity looks like this:
■ Christendom is largely dissolved, and the
peoples of Europe and North America
are increasingly secular.
■ The Enlightenment, which
provided the worldview
for the secular West, is a
spent force. Consequently,
people are increasingly
receptive to, and searching
for, a satisfying worldview.
■ We are, once again, in an
Apostolic Age—much like the
age that early Christianity
engaged.
We can dramatize some of what
this new apostolic age means and what the
policy of most churches means, in terms of
the John 4:35 and Luke 10:2 texts. Three
things, today, are similar to the ancient
world reflected in those texts. First, due
largely to the secularization of the West and
the breakdown of the Enlightenment, the
harvest is great once again. More and more
people need and seek a satisfying worldview
and spiritual fulfillment.
Second, one reason that most churches
fail to gather the harvest around them is that
the Church still has trouble perceiving the
harvest. From the Christendom legacy, most
churches continue “doing church” as usual,
as though most people in our communities
are Christians, as though ministry is merely
the nurture and care of existing Christians.
Many church leaders are in denial regarding
the growing number of secular pre-
Christians in their community.
Third, the Christian movement still has
too few laborers to gather the harvest. In
most traditional churches, we ask our people
to share the good news and invite people
to church involvement and they don’t do it.
I have become obsessed with
two questions: What kind of
church can reach and disciple the
growing number of secular people
across our land What can
churches do to produce a witnessing,
inviting people
I have discovered that the
God who acts and reveals
His possibilities in history
began, in the 1970’s, to
raise up “Apostolic
Congregations” appropriate to
this new apostolic age that target and reach
unchurched pre-Christians.
“Apostolic” is a revered term of the
Christian tradition, but it is not a trendy term
for referring to churches today. I have resisted
the temptation to feature any of the terms
in referring to the churches who target secular
unchurched pre-Christian people, for
two reasons ...these terms do not suggest the
deep roots from which these churches draw
and what makes these churches different is
not a single feature like prayer, small
groups, or seven-days-a-week scheduling,
but a combination of multiple features that
function synergistically.
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