The Church Unknown

The church in America is facing a bleak future, or so it seems. People are staying away from congregations in increasing numbers, especially Millennials. The world has changed dramatically in a very short amount of time, leaving the church at a loss for what tomorrow holds. In The Church Unknown, Rev. Seth Nelson explores these challenges and shares his perspective on what younger generations are looking for from the church as we all move into a future unknown. The Church Unknown looks at the reality of church decline in the present, exploring how generational divide, changes in the wider world, and dynamics in church history have resulted in lower church attendance among Americans today. Offering a perspective on what Millennials are looking for from the church, Rev. Nelson argues that a lot of young adults struggle to relate to other generations in the church - and the same is true the other way around. The increasingly digitized world that Millennials grew up in has made for a generational divide that is unique to our day and age. The effect is that many Millennials are not able to connect to others in multi-generational communities, nor do other generations seem well suited to relate to Millennials. Technology, globalization, and culture in the wider world have all shifted very rapidly, leaving the church at a loss about how to relate to a world that has changed much faster than it expected or was ready for. This book explores how there is still hope for the church moving forward. Though Millennials are coming to church fewer numbers than previous generations, many of them still identify as Christian. More than that, this book explores how there will always be need for the church in our world because many of its age old-aspects will never be outdated. Challenges the church is facing in this day and age may not be signs of its impending death, but of its impending resurrection.