GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. /Christian Newswire/ — Matt Anderson, Lutheran Pastor, expert on American history and politics, and author of Running Mate, is planning a “surprise church.”
Gallop shows that millennials (young adults born after 1981) are less likely to attend church or have a religious affiliation, and yet they’re more likely to pray daily.
On top of that, most churches tend to age and decline because “insiders” and older generations of believers are not equipped for — or interested in — raising up the next generation of believers.
When the Prodigal son returned home in Luke 15, he had low expectations for the kind of reception he would receive. He expected his father to be as bitter and judgmental as his brother turned out to be. He expected to return as a duty-laden hired hand, not a son. But instead, he was enveloped by an inter-generational surprise party that shattered his negative preconceptions and readmitted him into the family.
This is the basis for the “surprise church.”
When launched in 2014, the surprise church will directly confront the negative stereotypes of Christianity by gaining a reputation in the community for being positive, generous, helpful, creative and transformative, in the spirit of Jeremiah 29:4-7.
The “surprise church” hopes to reach people that most established churches struggle to reach. Anderson will form ministry plans to address and remedy the expanding gap between the church and culture. A major goal is to empower parents to pastor their kids by doing faith at home as a top priority.
Matt Anderson is a Lutheran pastor specializing in life counseling, with expertise in Biblical content. He is also a semi-pro athlete and an authority on “CrossFit” Training and Body Building.
