The fastest-growing "religious group" in America is the religiously unaffiliated. As followers of Jesus, it’s clear we need to respond… but how? If we are going to reach this post-Christian generation, we need a huge paradigm shift. We need to become cross-cultural missionaries to our own people in our own cities.

The heartbreaking consequences of the secular worldview are a generation that is confused, sexually broken, anxious, and lonely. The extent to which our hearts are broken about something, is the extent that we will do something about it - so we need to ask God to open our eyes to the state of the world, break our hearts for what breaks His, and pray like never before.

In order to bring the hope of Jesus to secular culture, we need to follow the example of Jesus and become a friend of sinners. There is amazing power in good, old-fashioned friendship. To develop friendships in secular places, we need to count the cost, pursue people in our spheres of influence, and expand our influence by being relationally present.

Everything we do and talk about has spiritual implications. The key to communicating the Gospel in a post-Christian culture is to learn how to engage in effective spiritual conversations. A spiritual conversation serves as a bridge from the natural to the Gospel. Although it takes practice to master, really, it's as simple as asking good questions and listening. 

A spiritual conversation is not the Gospel, but it sets the stage for introducing people to Jesus and the message of the cross. As we engage in spiritual conversations, we can look for ways to connect these conversations, by affirming or challenging, to at least one of the six core truths of the Gospel.

Jesus and the message of the cross are the ONLY hope for our world. You will never feel fully ready when you share the Gospel. It’s a little like jumping off a cliff. The proclamation of the Gospel needs to be accompanied by the power and presence of God, but our words still matter.

Sexuality is undoubtedly the issue that draws the most hostility from secular people toward the Church. But this topic is actually an incredible opportunity to engage in spiritual conversations. We need to recognize that beneath the mask of intense moral conviction, there is deep confusion and brokenness.

Few topics offer more natural opportunities to spark spiritual conversations than politics. We need to consider both our attitude and our approach towards politics, and remember who the real enemy is. Political conversations can become spiritual conversations that lead to Jesus and the cross when we affirm, reframe, and lovingly challenge.

Many secular people today assume that science and religious beliefs are entirely incompatible. They have dismissed Christianity as a viable option because they believe it to be implausible (rationally) and undesirable (emotionally or morally). Our goal is to open our non-religious friends’ minds and hearts to sincerely and honestly consider the God of the Bible.

There is a big cultural gap between the Church and secular culture. We need to walk with people, sharing our lives deeply and sacrificially with them. We call this a “discipleship relationship” - sharing life with someone and intentionally showing them what it means to follow Jesus in their context.