For many years, our contemporary culture has impacted and influenced the church. Although many would not refute the need for the church to be relevant to culture, it is quite another issue when we see the church being guided by culture.
George Barna was clear in a 2024 interview with The Christian Post regarding the church’s biggest threats. The article states:
“Barna said that today, he’s focused on worldview development and cultural development more than ever before. The Church is at a critical juncture, he warned, and the path to a thriving Christian community lies in returning to the core biblical principles, the empowerment of parents as spiritual leaders and the intentional discipling of the next generation. ‘All the other stuff is noise,’ he said. ‘If we don’t do those things, we’re going to lose even more in this war . . . this is our moment, we’ve reached a time of Christian invisibility in our culture. What I’m seeing now is that we’re getting to this place where the typical American . . . will not have anyone in their circle of influence who has a biblical worldview. You’re not going to be influenced with God’s truth.’”1
Scripture demonstrates that the church must proactively impact and influence culture toward Christ. In Matthew 5:13–16, Jesus called believers “salt and light.” Salt preserves and flavors, while light illuminates. This implies that Christians are to have a transformative influence on the world around them, combating decay and darkness with the presence of Christ.
The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:20, identifies believers as “ambassadors” who represent Jesus. Ambassadors are sent to represent their king or country in a foreign land. Therefore, Christians are to represent Christ and His kingdom within the cultures in which they live.
Furthermore, in his letter to the church at Rome, chapter 12, verses 1–2, Paul urges believers not to “conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This suggests a proactive stance of changing culture by living according to God’s values rather than passively adopting the world’s standards. The question arises:
How can local churches regain their influence and point culture toward Christ?
In other words, “How can the church be ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world”?
One of the roles of the church, in any culture and at any time in history, has been to live a “counterculture” life. Think about this: The only consistent aspect of culture is its continuous state of change. In sharp contrast, the Word of God does not change. It is timeless, eternal, holy, and always fully applicable to culture.
The Word of God supersedes culture and will guide culture toward Christ-centered living if understood and applied correctly.
I want to offer three practices the local church can implement to help it effectively and biblically influence culture.
The first practice would be to understand, with the end goal of application in the daily lives of church members, that all of life is under the Lordship of Jesus.
We are all too good at compartmentalizing our lives. We have a family box, a work box, a recreation box, a church box, etc. However, Christian life should be lived so that every moment of the day belongs to Christ. Every moment, whether at work, school, or the park, should be lived with a biblical mindset that seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33).
Secondly, churches can influence culture by helping families be more focused on intentionally training their children in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (see Ephesians 6:4).
Most families are busy these days and don’t seem to have the time to train their children in the Scriptures and inculcate them with biblical values. They have delegated this responsibility to the church. Still, the church cannot and will not be a substitute for the God-given responsibility each family has to train their children. The church must help guide families to “ween-out” the good in their lives and seek the best. It all comes down to priorities, and the church must help parents navigate the turbulent waters of cultural busyness that distract families and pull them in many directions at once.
Finally, churches can incarnate the gospel through active and intentional discipleship (see Matthew 18:18–20 and 2 Timothy 2:2).
Many churches are concerned about seeing the lost come to Christ, as they should be. However, far fewer are concerned with producing life-long followers of Jesus who, in turn, are helping others also become life-long followers of Jesus. A movement of disciple-making in any church will undoubtedly influence its neighborhood, town, or city for Christ and move its culture toward Christ-centered living.
