What does the rise of the religiously unaffiliated mean for the future of mainline denominations?

I interviewed Pastor Steve Jesmer of the Dialogue Church to find out what specifically he and his church are doing to preach the Good News in New England.

Going back as far as the Tang Dynasty, this article traces the advance of the Gospel in the city of Beijing over the space of more than 1000 years. Today its influence can be seen through contributions made by Christians of previous generations in areas such as medicine, economics, education, and culture, and in the exponential growth of the church since 1949.

This is what I tell people who tell me there is something about our church they don’t like or about their church they don’t like: “Good.”

Jonathan Merritt, the son of a Southern Baptist leader, wrote in a recent essay that the evangelical influence on America is declining because of the “seeping impact of globalization and the digital age.” Said Merritt: “Evangelicals once presided like chairmen in America’s political boardroom, but they must now sit down with others at a common table to dialogue and search for common ground.”

Why do so many in the church not share their faith? How can they develop a missionary mentality and make the church a local mission?

At 54, Andy Stanley knows something about weirdness. He was swept up in a struggle against another famous televangelist--his father, the Rev. Charles Stanley, a Southern Baptist megachurch pastor and founder of In Touch Ministries, a global evangelistic organization. The experience enraged Andy so much it scared him: "I understand drive-by shootings," he told his wife one day. "I was so angry at my dad. I was trying to do the right thing."

By divine appointment, the church makes the real Jesus seem real, it makes the truth visible to busy people, and it embodies living proof that the gospel enriches real people living real lives today. The church matters. Your church matters. In these powerful ways.

Churches that desire a more multi-ethnic membership desire a good thing, but it's not easy. Some churches are located in areas with virtually no ethnic diversity. Other churches across the spectrum still have leadership or laity who actively fight against any mixing ethnicities in their congregation. Still more churches may have the desire but lack the resources to effectively pursue multi-ethnicity.

Pastors begging for money, reading books instead of the Bible and Christians who invite to Church and don't tell people about Jesus are troubling areas