From an historical perspective persecution both kills churches and spurs them onward. Think of the now non-existent church in Algeria and Tunisia and the growing church in China as examples of each phenomenon. According to Philip Jenkins, author of The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, “The difference [between churches that last and those that perish under persecution] is how far the church establishes itself among the mass of people and doesn’t just become the church of a particular segment, a class or ethnic group.”
In the March edition of Christianity Today Stan Guthrie interviews Doctor Jenkins. He is asked about some of the details of his new book The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How it Died. Specifically he is asked to expand upon his ideas on the death of churches from an historical point of view.
If church growth and extinction are historical patterns, as Jenkins argues, how do we think about church decline? What is our theology of church extinction? I think we need to keep a couple of ideas in mind.
1. God is sovereign in His plans for the church
Matthew 16:18 says, “I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” While we are to lament the declining of churches around the world we are also to rejoice in God’s sovereignty throughout the process. God’s plans are beyond our understanding so we must trust that He knows what He is doing with His church.
2. We need to think deeply about our definition of success
Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” It is right for us to dream big about expanding the gospel within our own communities and around the world. It is right for us to pray that the gospel be preached and believed everywhere. But all of our best laid plans are in the control of the Father. Successful fulfillment of plans should not be measured by the number of seats filled on Sunday mornings or the percentage of professing Christians in any country. Rather, success should be defined by our faithfulness to God’s commands to love Him and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
3. We need to commit to the biblical view of the makeup of the church
Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”” God calls us to preach the gospel to the entire world. Oftentimes in American Christianity we restrict this view to people groups outside our borders. This is unfortunate because many cultures exist within geographical areas across the country, whether it’s small town North Dakota, or big city New York. We need to reach out to everyone in our communities because God calls us to do so. It will help us avoid the pitfall of cultural segregation that has been the downfall of many churches, according to Jenkins.
Thus, a theology of church decline starts with a view toward God’s sovereignty and ends with a commitment to preach the gospel to all tribes, peoples and languages, even within our American context.
The Theology Pilgrim 
Jenkins came and spoke at Bethel in March – fascinating!
He asked a question regarding the definitive marker of the church. If an outsider (alien, etc) were to come to earth and was asked to identify “the church,” would they be able to? What would/would not allow this to happen.
His point is that while we think and talk about the church being universal and global, it is so radically different around the globe that it bears little definitive marks. This goes beyond worship style and practice, iconography, buildings, etc. but to the very outward action of the people who are a part of it.
I don’t think it would be such a bad thing if some of the “church” in America were to die. The church will never die where there are people in community whose lives have been fully transformed into the likeness of Christ.
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