Robert Elkington

A Model for the Growth of the Evangelical Churches in Canada Robert Elkington

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2010 in the subject Theology - Practical Theology, grade: -, - (North West University, South Africa), course: Practical Theology, language: English, comment: "Research shows 65% of churches have plateaued in their numerical growth. Churches are faced with many challenges. Canada's social structure has changed, and churches need to adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Many areas of our cities have no evangelical churches and the programs that do exist have not kept pace with the modern world. As a result, a generation of young people has grown up largely without church ties. It is apparent that there is a lack of robust health among Canadian evangelical churches". , abstract: Statistical evidence is clear, the Evangelical churches in North America are in decline. There are many reasons for this decline, not least of which is the reality that the North American Evangelical churches now exist in a post-Christendom milieu. A new ontology and and a new praxis are needed to address this new reality. However, the model is perhaps not new, but merely a return to the intended purpose for the church since its inception in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. This article explores a fourfold missional model for the North American church moving from liminality, through communitas and emergence to mission.