Pastor Rob Ketterling is the lead pastor of River Valley Church, which is based out of Minnesota’s Twin Cities South Metro area. Ketterling and his wife, Becca, began River Valley in 1995 with a vision for church “outside the ordinary” and have seen it grow to more than 5,000 in attendance across seven locations, including two international campuses. Ketterling serves on many church and para-church boards and is on the lead team for Church Multiplication Network.

Below are some of his thoughts we’ve excerpted from an interview.

What changes in society and culture do you believe will most affect the Church in the next 25 years or so?
In the next few years, the clash of Islam and Christianity is inevitable all throughout the globe, in that they’re the two religions that exclusively claim, this is the way. They don’t lend themselves to the syncretism, "anything goes, you know, make your own religion, all roads lead to God." Both say this is the way, and they’re both ones that are growing. Eventually the neutral areas will be over. It doesn’t have to be a hostile conflict, but it's going to come down to the two sides in religion—and then there’ll be another one that will be the nones, the none of the above.

How are those three groups—Christians, Muslims and none of the above—[going to] interact in the future? That’s a huge question I think everyone is trying to figure out. And that’s on a global scale.  

What is something about today’s Church that you think must change?
In America, churches need to realize that they’re not the home team anymore. To me, that’s the biggest change. It has to be real and lived out, or it will be marginalized like any other social group, [where] only the members will join it, and it has a shrinking future. 

In America, churches need to realize that they’re not the home team anymore.

Another thing that must change is the generation sub-40 years old has to be more generous with their resources and make significant investments in evangelism and the local church. They’ve been lulled into sleep into thinking that if they buy a pair of shoes, they donated substantially because a poor person got another pair of shoes.

One tithe check is way more than any shoe donation, and yet, they look down on the tithe and up on shoes. They would rather buy a water that gives another person a nickel for the well in India and feel like they gave to the Church by buying water, versus sacrificing to give to missions, and building churches around the world, and knowing that it isn’t done by buy one get one; it’s done by rearranging your priorities financially and giving substantial percentages to advance the cause of Christ.

That’ll have to change. If it doesn’t, we’re in big trouble because as needed as it is to give everyone shoes, we’re called to build the Church. One of the nations that is the richest in the history of the world is going to have to own up to its responsibility to help resource the advancement of the cause.

What are the things that you think should never change about the Church?
I think what cannot change is what was declared in Acts 4:12, that there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby ye must be saved. That can’t change, that churches are preaching salvation in the name of Jesus. The moment we change that one, we’re in trouble. All roads don’t lead to God.

What can never change is an emphasis to reach the next person. The going can never change. The moment we stop the going, we’re dead. We have to be a great commission Church going into all the world. 

We have to be a great commission Church going into all the world. 

How do you expect to see technology impact the individual and the church?
The church is going to have to embrace the older generation doing life together with the younger generation. To give wisdom for the knowledge, that’s going to be a big thing for the future. There’s going to be so much knowledge. [Young people] can Google everything, but they can’t apply anything. 

How do I apply what I Googled? How do I live what I Googled? I think that’s going to be a huge thing for the Church with the technology.

Do you see a new kind of Pentecostal emerging, especially in the millennial generation, and how would you describe this quality?
I think the next generation has been marketed to. They’re tech savvy, they understand there’s money available, and I think they’re almost acting – well, the thing that will marvel at are the gifts of the Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit and that which can’t be bought or manufactured.

I kind of said all along that if you want to reach rich people, they have everything in the world, but they can’t manufacture the presence of God and the gifts of the Spirit. They can’t buy that. And so, those things minister to affluent people because they can’t buy it and it’s above wealth, it’s above knowledge, it’s supernatural. And I think that the millennials are attracted to deep passion, life application and power. 

The gifts of the Spirit that are powerful are going to be so attractive to this generation. I’ve actually taught at some of our Assemblies of God conferences and said if ever there was a time set up for Pentecostals and Charismatics, now is the time. Now is the time because the gifts of the Spirit are what the world can’t purchase, and it’s the undeniable supernatural power of God that blows them away.