American Christianity has reached an inflection point.

“After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christian shows signs of leveling off,” reports Pew Research Center in its 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study. That share of the population was 78% in 2007 and 71% in 2014. Now, it is 62%.

By the same token, the share of Americans with no religious affiliation whatsoever — the so-called “Nones” — has plateaued at 29% of the population in 2024, after rising from 16% in 2007 to 23% in 2014.

This pause will not last forever. At some point, it will resume a trajectory, whether up or down.

Which way will American Christianity go? More importantly, which way will your congregation go?

That is the question Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Raymond Chang take up in Future-Focused Church.

They define a future-focused church as “a group of Jesus followers who seek God’s direction together — especially in relationally discipling young people, modeling kingdom diversity, and tangibly loving our neighbors.”

Your church’s future may very well depend on the choices and changes you begin to make today.

The emphasis on youth, diversity, and compassion is intentional. As a rule, younger Americans tend to be less religious and more diverse than older Americans.

According to Pew, for example, while 75% of Americans born in the 1950s identify as Christian, only 46% born in the 1990s do. An almost equal share of the latter (44%) identifies as Nones.

Reaching distinct groups within the broader population thus requires prioritizing their evangelization and discipleship.

Interestingly, the Assemblies of God is already doing this in terms of ethnicity and race. Approximately 55% of U.S. AG adherents are white, while 45% are Hispanic, Black, Asian, Native American, or other.

Ryan Burge believes this commitment to diversity explains why “the AG has recorded long term growth while most other larger denominations have been going the other direction.”

Indeed, he argues that should this trend continue, the AG will be “the only larger Protestant denomination that is bigger in 2035 than it was in 2020.”

Given these priorities, how can pastors, ministers, and other church leaders effect change in their congregations?

Powell, Mulder, and Chang draw on Scripture, leadership studies, and their work as church consultants to outline four “zones” on the road to change.

The first is who: “Who are the people in our church (or ministry) and wider community whose unique perspectives and gifts must shape this effort?” The authors call this group the “transformation team.”

Many change efforts fail because leaders attempt to impose change from the top down. As the authors remind readers, however, “People support what they help create.”

Here is the second zone: “Where are we now, and why are we here?” Leaders seek to understand the history of their church’s history, mission, and values in order to leverage them for effective change going forward.

The third zone is there: “Where is God leading us?” The goal in this zone is to craft a shared vision of where the church would like to be in the future, and to articulate it in such a way that it inspires action.

How is the final zone: “What is our next faithful step, and how might we move into a more faithful future?”

The authors encourage readers to reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus, whom they describe as “the most effective change leader who ever lived.” They also talk about maintaining disciplined attention, experimenting around the edges, and learning from failure.

The final chapter of the book outlines an 18-month schedule for leading the process of change in your church or ministry.

I recommend Future-Focused Church to pastors, ministers, and other church leaders as an aid to their efforts to lead congregational transformation.

Your church’s future may very well depend on the choices and changes you begin to make today.

Book Reviewed

Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Raymond Chang, Future-Focused Church: Leading Through Change, Engaging the Next Generation, and Building a More Diverse Tomorrow (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2025).

This article appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Called to Serve.