1. The Book of Acts Time to Act on Acts 1:8

3. What’s Coming In The Future

4. Changes Coming in the Nation How Will These Changes Impact Churches Obstacles to Church Growth Future of churches of Christ Overview

5. The Next America

6. Paul Taylor Executive Vice President Pew Research Center

8. Did you catch what he said? The Near Future Social Cohesion Demographic Churn Things They Are a Changin – Is it Good or Bad? Uncharted Territory – Firsts in the history of humanity

9. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in- adulthood/

10. What can Churches do to take advantage of these changes?

11. How will these changes impact churches?

12. Median Age of Congregations Pressures concerning worship styles Congregational Diversity Attendance Church Finances? Mission Work? Impact Areas

13. Values Conflicts (i.e. homosexuality, gay marriage) Increasing national secularism Impact Areas

14. Denominational Identity “Christian” Christians Only vs the Only Christians. Who is a Christian and How do you become one. ?Obstacles to Church Growth?

15. ‘Christian’ means different things to different people Nominal Christians cultural - Cultural Christians are the least connected -- they call themselves Christian because of heritage or culture. congregational - Congregational Christians have some connection to a local church, but rarely attend.

16. ‘Christian’ means different things to different people Convictional Christians - call themselves Christians like the other two categories, but they attend church services regularly and order their lives around their faith convictions.

17. The Problems: 70%-75% of the U.S. population calls itself “Christian”. But only 25% practice what they preach. Many of the 70-75% nominal Christians are beginning to now check the box “none” for religious affiliation.

18. People are confused on what it means to be a Christian.

19. Three Trends Expected to Continue for the Next Ten Years 1.The Hemorrhaging of Mainline Protestantism (UMC, ECLA, Episcopal, Presbyterian (USA), American Baptist, UCC, and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 30% of Americans would identify with one of these denominations

20. Three Trends Expected to Continue for the Next Ten Years 2.Continued Growth of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement Excesses of the past are becoming more tame while they are moving toward a more biblical view of Spirit-filled and Spirit-led ministries.

21. Three Trends Expected to Continue for the Next Ten Years 3.Networks will explode in numbers and influence Examples – The Vineyard, Calvary Chapel, Community churches. In some respects they will replace denominations, taking on the same functions. Primarily made up of nondenominational evangelical churches

23. churches of Christ - 2050

26. Jay Guin

27. http://oneinjesus.info/author/oneinjesus/

29. What Do you think the Littleton Church will look like in 10, 20, 30 years? What will shape us during that time? People Issues Culture

30. Next Week (27 Dec): Spiritual Conversation