I am concerned about a post-Christian culture in Europe, particularly Germany. This term means that Christianity is no longer the majority or predominant religion within a given culture. The church’s response calls for prayer, fellowship, and a life shaped by the gospel.

Church membership figures cited by Pew Research Center illustrate changes in Germany’s religious affiliation. These records include both children and adults:

• Protestant affiliation fell from 59% of the population to about 29%, a decline of 30 percentage points.
• Catholic affiliation fell from 37% to about 30%, a decline of 7 percentage points.
• The proportion of people with no religious affiliation rose from fewer than 4% to 30%.

A study of church attendance in Poland examined religious participation under restrictions on public gatherings. The two online surveys included 1,072 and 1,080 responses from 1,967 unique adults, with quotas reflecting population characteristics. Respondents reported regular church participation falling from 31.2% to 11.9%, while reported nonattendance rose from 23.1% to 57%. These figures reflect the experiences of the surveyed adults and illustrate how disruption to community life can affect religious participation.

When I was traveling across the Polish countryside, I asked an individual why fewer people were attending his country church. His answer was that the governing party had intertwined itself with the church, leaving the church too closely identified with the political state. My concern is that churches in Europe and the United States could confuse political power with the power of the gospel.

3 ways Christians can respond 

It can be difficult to offer a practical solution to a situation that requires nothing short of prayerful revival and reformation. To only compound the problem, most of us are thousands of miles away from Europe. However, there are three practical ways Christians can address a post-Christian Europe, followed by a turn toward addressing the post-Christianization of America. 

1. Support international missions

Missions organizations such as the  International Mission Board (IMB) strategically place and support missionaries across the world in order to share the gospel and work to plant healthy and gospel-focused churches in spiritually dry communities. Support for international missions takes multiple shapes, two of which are prayer and money. By using the prayer resources these organizations provide, leading yourself, your family, community group, or church through the materials can be a great way to partner with missionaries across the globe. 

2. Faithfully participate in the life of your local church 

Participating fully in the life of the local church is one of the best ways to maintain the health of a church within a community. Not only are Christians commanded to participate in a church community (Heb. 10:24-25), but doing so gives Christians opportunities for gospel-centered work through engaging in local contexts.

3. Maintain an awareness of when the Church has assumed too much of culture 

Writing about the role of missions and evangelism, one theologian argues, “the most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. We serve the world by showing it something that it is not, namely, a place where God is forming a family out of strangers.” 

Yet, we too often forsake the distinctiveness of the gospel and the nature of the Church for the comfort and misnomer of relevance. By maintaining the call for a Christian distinctive, the Church is allowed to function as it should: an outpost of the Kingdom of God and a place where the divine economy is sustained by the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7).

Maintaining this awareness is easier said than done. It requires regular consumption of Scripture, both in personal and communal settings, personal and communal prayer, sustenance by the Spirit, and an outflow of the fruit of the Spirit. There is no clear formula for how this should be achieved, but it should be done under the leadership of a local church pastor. 

Serving in a culture where religious participation has declined calls for a clear understanding of the church’s mission. The Christian Church is not to respond in fear and attempt to preserve its power, but it is to respond in love and graciousness, recommitting herself to the tenets of Christ’s teaching and the truth of his crucifixion and resurrection. By supporting our missionaries, participating in the local church, and allowing the Church to be the Church, the Church will still be a strong, faithful witness of the triumphal and resurrected Christ.  

Editor’s note

And here’s the Good News: Christ’s resurrection gives the church a reason to serve faithfully even where belief has declined. A congregation can bear witness through prayer for missionaries, steady participation in local fellowship, and a life shaped by Scripture. These practices give ordinary believers a part in the church’s work without requiring influence or public recognition. Where could you become more dependable in your local church, and how might that commitment help someone encounter the love of Christ?

This article was originally posted on the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) blog. Used by permission. Adapted by His Good News. erlc.com. Read the original article.