The American Church: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We're Going

It’s easy to take something we’ve been doing forever and assume that it will always be like that, because we don’t have any experience outside of what we already know. But if you look at the history of the church, it’s clear that change and growth are inevitable, so we need to embrace both if we want to move forward. In this blog post about the American church, I’ll go over how we got here, where we are now, and where I think we’re going in the future.

Where we have been

A brief overview of Christian history in America. It’s not just a list of who were presidents were or major events (we know you can look that up on Wikipedia), but what was happening to Christianity during those times. How did those historical events impact Christianity? What does our past tell us about how we view ourselves as Christians today? For example, our country was founded by Puritans who felt they needed to remove themselves from their former society because it was too corrupting. They left England and came to America so they could live in a pure society without anything that might draw them away from God. They later formed some of our earliest churches with intense focus on worshiping God in a specific way. Our early church leaders had an enormous influence on our culture and continue to do so today. The first president said he wasn't sure if he believed in God at all! Our second president owned slaves! And then there's Billy Graham... The point is, where we have been has an enormous impact on where we are now—and where we are going. If you want to understand what's happening right now, you need to understand where we have been. It will help shape your understanding of why things are happening like they are now and help give insight into what may happen next. Why is one political party viewed more favorably than another? Why are evangelical voters leaning towards a particular candidate? Understanding our history gives us valuable context for current events. In order to be informed citizens, we must study where we have been and how it impacts where we are now.

Where we are: Current state of Christianity in America. This isn't just about denominations; instead, focus on cultural issues that surround being a Christian in America today. Talk about hot-button topics such as same-sex marriage, abortion rights, religious freedom laws, school prayer bans, transgender bathroom use...the list goes on and on!

Our current situation

The United States is often viewed as a haven for Christianity. Americans are proud of our religious heritage, but do we truly know where it comes from? If we’re going to continue influencing in future generations, it’s imperative that we understand exactly what brought us to where we are today. Many people seem under the assumption that America was founded on secular principles. The truth is quite different. The Founding Fathers were very religious men who relied heavily on Biblical principles to shape their new government. Though they differed over many theological matters, they all agreed with one thing: that America needed to be a Christian nation. This sense of unity helped them achieve greatness and success during those critical first few years of our country’s founding.

What can we do?

To begin with we can study what has happened to our churches and why it is that so many of them are empty. It has been said that in order to understand where you are going, you must first know where you have been. Therefore we need to look at how we got here. We also need to look at the reality of our present condition; because let’s face it; our condition is not good! Thirdly we should get some idea as to where we might go from here.

How can we make a difference?

There are numerous ways that a Christian can make a difference in their local church. As mentioned earlier, some of those ways include leading children’s Sunday school classes; leading college age students or young adult ministry classes; teaching Bible studies to new believers or children; attending or hosting small group meetings; serving on committees and boards at your church. All of these opportunities may allow you to be involved in making a difference while being able to use your God-given gifts. Who wouldn’t want that?

 As you consider each way that you can make a difference in your church, ask yourself two questions. First, does it use my gifts? Second, is it aligned with my calling? One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to convince us to be involved in some ministry activity that doesn’t allow us to use our God-given gifts or fully align with our spiritual calling. If we are not careful, he will trick us into serving him rather than Jesus. It is important to remember that even though there may be many ways for you to serve at your church, if they don’t align with what God has called you to do then they aren’t from Him. Don’t get caught up in doing something just because everyone else is doing it! The apostle Paul told Timothy Be an example of good deeds for those who believe in Christ... (1 Timothy 4:12). How do we do that? By being involved in ministries that allow us to use our gifts and align with our calling. I encourage you to prayerfully seek out opportunities where you can make a difference while using your God-given gifts and fulfilling your spiritual calling.

So how did we get here?: In order to determine where we need to go next, it is important first to understand how we got here. For years now, America has been trending toward becoming more secularized as opposed to being Christianized.