“The primary objective of the participation of the church in the mission of God is, as expressed by Christ in his missionary mandate, to make disciples.”

caring for others

Pew researchers noted that the “nones” are this country’s fastest-growing religious category. These same scholars found that two-thirds of Americans — affiliated or unaffiliated — say religion is losing its influence in their lives. Further, another researcher, Mark Chaves, has noted that “beginning with those born in the 1960s, more people raised

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others” (Bonhoeffer, 1972, 382).

As the inquirers assembled, she introduced herself to each person (there were seven) and engaged each one directly. Addressing the whole group, she asked if anyone had a question about what had gone on in

American denominations were divided not so much by doctrinal or liturgical differences as by politics, social class, and ethnicity.

Waypoint 3: Worship Honors a Wide Range of Human Feelings and Experiences

To the surprise of these researchers, the majority of interviewees affiliated with Protestant mainline denominations favored the theological perspective of the “Distant God” over the others.13

Martyria, or witnessing