THE WAY WE'RE GOING TO CHURCH IN
AMERICA IS CHANGING.
RESEARCH SAYS ONLY 15 PERCENT OF
CONGREGATIONS NATIONWIDE ARE
GROWING.
PICKING A CHURCH TO CALL HOME
CAN
BE AS PERSONAL TO SOME AS
CHOOSING
A SPOUSE.
SIZE .. DENOMINATION ..
AND MUSIC STYLE ARE JUST A FEW
FACTORS PEOPLE TAKE INTO
ACCOUNT.
TONIGHT .. WE'RE TAKING A CLOSER
LOOK AT THE NON- TRADITIONAL
MOVEMENT .. THAT'S UNDENIABLY
MAKING
WAVES IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.
NATS OF KAINOS
THE BAND .. THE GRAPHICS .. A
SOUND BOARD AND VIDEO
CAMERA ...
WALKING INTO KAINOS FEELS MUCH
LIKE A CONCERT
EXPERIENCE AT FIRST. MORE THAN A
100 PEOPLE PACK INTO
"THE CROSSING" AT FIRST BAPTIST
CHURCH IN DOWNTOWN ON
TUESDAY NIGHTS.
IT'S NOT THE TRADITIONAL
CHURCH GOING DAY .. OR
EXPERIENCE.
THE TREND LINES ARE NOT GOOD AS
FAR AS THE CHURCH IS CONCERNED.
EVEN THOUGH KAINOS HAS
GROWN FROM 30 PEOPLE TO MORE
THAN A 150 IN LESS THAN A YEAR
..
DR. ROD DEMPSEY,
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION
MINISTRIES AT LIBERTY
UNIVERSITY SAYS .. 85-PERCENT OF
CHURCHES IN NORTH AMERICA
HAVE EITHER PLATEAUED OR
DECLINED IN MEMBERSHIP.
43-50
THE CULTURE HAS SHIFTED AWAY.
THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENTS OF
PEOPLE WHO SELF
IDENTIFY ON A SURVEY OF
RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND ARE
PEOPLE WHO WILL IDENTIFY AS
PEOPLE WHO ARE NON-RELIGOUS, NO
CHURCH BACK GROUND AND SO
THAT'S THE FASTEST GROWING.
A STATISTIC LIKE THAT .. HAS
ONLY ENCOURAGED LOCAL CHURCH
LEADERS TO GET CREATIVE IN
REACHING PEOPLE.
EARLIER THIS YEAR .. DR. BRYAN
SMITH .. LEAD PASTOR AT FIRST
BAPTIST CHURCH .. CAME UP WITH
THE
IDEA FOR KAINOS TO REACH THE
FAST GROWING AGE GROUP IN
ROANOKE .. YOUNG ADULTS.
1:18-1:32
THE CHURCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A
COMMUNITY COMMITTED TO
WORSHIP, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING
RIGHT NOW IN THIS TIME
IS BEING DONE IN WAYS WE HADN'T
SEEN BEFORE.
1:28-1:32
DEFINITELY DON'T THINK IT'S A
TRADITIONAL SERVICE. WE DO A
LOT OF THINGS ON TUESDAY NIGHTS
THAT NOT NORMALLY WOULD
BE DONE ON SUNDAY MORNING
ANYWHERE, I THINK.
YOU'LL FIND A PIANO .. BUT NO
ORGAN .. HYMNALS OR PULPIT.
JUST A 20 SOMETHING PASTOR ..
DELIVERING THE
SAME 2,000 YEAR OLD MESSAGE. WE
REALLY WANT TO SEE GOD START A
MOVEMENT IN OUR GENERATION AND
SO THAT'S REALLY
WHAT KAINOS IS ALL ABOUT -
SOMETHING NEW AND SOMETHING
FRESH.
SPEAKING OF NEW .. ACROSS TOWN
.. AT THE BERGLUND CENTER ..
DUSTIN STRADLEY .. THE PASTOR OF
ELEVATION
ROANOKE DOWNTOWN .. WALKS US
THROUGH THEIR
RECENTLY ADDED LOCATION.
2:31-2:35
WE HAVE ABOUT 200 VOLUNTEERS
THAT COME EVER SINGLE WEEK AND
TRANSFORM THIS ENTIRE PLACE INTO
A CHURCH, SO WE PUT UP 10
FOOT DRAPE AROUND THIS ENTIRE
ROOM, BECAUSE WE
ALWAYS WANT TO CREATE AN
ATMOSPHERE OF EXPECTATION AND
EXCELLENCE.
THIS IS THE SECOND .. NON-
TRADITIONAL LOCATION ..
ELEVATION HAS TRASFORMED. HIDDEN
VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL WAS
THE FIRST IN 2014 .. AND YES,
TWO HUNDRED MORE
VOLUNTEERS CONVERT THE SCHOOL
INTO A CHURCH EVERY
SUNDAY.
I THINK PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO
BE APART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
THAN THEMSELVES AND
THAT'S WHAT WE STRIVE TO DO. WE
STRIVE TO BE A PLACE THAT
PEOPLE CAN COME AS THEY ARE. WE
CAN MEET THEM
WHERE THEY ARE AND THEN WE CAN
POINT THEM TO JESUS. THESE ARE
TWO EXAMPLES OF
CHANGES IN CHURCH IN ROANOKE ...
BUT DR. ROD DEMPSEY SAYS .. THIS
MOVEMENT OF CHANGE
ACTUALLY STARTED IN THE 90S AT A
CHURCH IN CHICAGO.
IT WAS BASICALLY THIS IDEA THAT
WE'RE LOSING OUR YOUTH AND
SO THEY WANTED TO REFORMAT THE
SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE THAT IT
WASN'T JUST GOING TO BE FOR
BELIEVERS, BUT THEY WERE ALSO
GOING TO TARGET UNBELIEVERS TO
COME TO CHURCH AS WELL, AND SO,
THEY STARTED SOMETHING KIND OF
LIKE INVEST AND INVITE.
INVEST IN YOUR FRIENDS, INVITE
THEM TO CHURCH AND WHEN THEY
COME TO CHURCH THEY'RE GOING TO
ENJOY IT BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO
BE
TOPICAL AND THE MESSAGES ARE
GOING TO BE GEARED FOR
THEM.
NOW .. WITH TECHNOLOGY IT'S
EASIER THAN EVER FOR THE TOPICAL
MESSAGE TO SPREAD.
BOTH KAINOS AND ELEVATION ..
HAVE
LAUNCHED SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS
TO REACH PEOPLE IN THE ROANOKE
VALLEY.
BUT STRADLEY KNOWS FIRST HAND ..
IT'S A PERSONAL
CONNECTION THAT HAS LED TO
GROWTH AT ELEVATION AND
LIVES CHANGED.
IN 2009 ... HE SHOWED UP AT A
LOCATION IN CHARLOTTE,
NORTH CAROLINA .. ONE WEEK AFTER
HE WAS ARRESTED AND
PUT IN JAIL.
A FRIEND BROUGHT ME TO
ELEVATION CHURCH THE FOLLOWING
WEEK ON AUGUST 9,
2009. THE WORSHIP EXPERIENCE WAS
INSPIRING, THE
SERMON, THE WORSHIP, EVERY BIT
OF IT, BUT WHAT SPOKE TO
ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE WERE
THE PEOPLE IN THAT PLACE DID
NOT CARE WHERE I HAD BEEN JUST A
WEEK BEFORE. THEY ONLY CARE THAT
I WAS THERE THAT DAY AND THEY
MET ME WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN AND
LOVED ME THROUGH AND THAT'S WHAT
KEPT ME COMING.
NOW AS A PASTOR .. HE KNOWS
CONNECTING TO PEOPLE FACE TO
FACE IS VITAL.
THAT'S WHAT HE CREDITS FOR
GROWING IN JUST TWO YEARS FROM
200 TO UPWARDS OF 1800 NOW.
IN THE NEAR FUTURE I CAN SEE US
EXPANDING BEYOND ROANOKE
TO RICHMOND, WE'VE TALK ABOUT
VIRGINIA BEACH AND REALLY JUST
TAKING OVER THE ENTIRE STATE OF
VIRGINIA THE BEST THAT WE CAN TO
REACH PEOPLE. WHILE IT'S
CLEAR
TO SEE THE CHURCH HAS EMBRACED
CHANGE IN
DELIVERY .. LEADERS ARE QUICK TO
POINT OUT THE MESSAGE
REMAINS THE SAME.