A message from Rex Butts, lead minister for the Newark Church of Christ, NJ
I have served as a minister among Churches of Christ for almost twenty-five years. With some lament, I may be among the last generation of full-time vocational ministers. Very few students at various Christian universities have any plans for serving vocationally as a minister. I am not saying the body of Christ will cease to exist but the reality is that congregations are in decline and churches are closing more frequently than ever.
Despite this, I am not despondent. My children, a freshman at Lipscomb University and a son who is a sophomore in high school, are Christians and they are not alone among their peers. Among the emerging generation exist students who believe in Jesus, even if they’re not sure how to follow Jesus yet. So in the coming years, I want to do more to encourage and equip these students to live as participants in the mission of God, working in whatever vocation they may pursue as a career and thus be a new embodiment of the gospel–a local body of Christ.
That is why I believe in what Mission Alive is doing, equipping leaders to develop innovative communities of faith focused on transforming marginalized communities. I’m also excited about the Reimagining Church project on the Mission Alive Substack (missionalive.substack.com). This project brings together academicians and practitioners affiliated with the Churches of Christ to address the theological and practical matters necessary for developing innovative faith communities (a.k.a. church planting).
I hope you’ll consider subscribing to and reading the various articles published on the Mission Alive Substack. More importantly, I hope these articles will raise awareness of the need for establishing new innovative faith communities that are faithful to Jesus Christ but contextually relevant to their local communities. Church as we know it is disappearing but I believe God is raising a new generation of believers to go live as new expressions of church. Amen.