American Pastors Network Connects Older, Younger Pastors to Tackle Millennial Faith Crisis
A network of American pastors is aiming to connect the older generation of ministers with younger ones to address the vast numbers of millennials and youth who are not only leaving the faith but don't have a biblical worldview.
In light of a recent American Culture and Faith Institute study, led by veteran researcher George Barna, which revealed that only 10 percent of Americans — and only 4 percent of millennials — hold a biblical worldview, Sam Rohrer, president of the American Pastors Network believes a crisis for the Church and society is upon us.
And unfortunately, when it comes to engaging the issues of the day, most pastors have been "astoundingly silent," Rohrer, who is also the host of the radio broadcast "Stand in the Gap Today," told The Christian Post.
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Because pastors have failed to speak here, an "abysmally low" number of young people know how to bring their Christian convictions to bear on public life, and the cultural manifestations of this lack of knowledge threatens the future of American democracy, he added.
Absent the passing down of truth to the next generation, "this nation cannot preserve the freedoms that we have enjoyed under our constitution and a republic," Rohrer said.
The older generation of pastors and Christian leaders who have been contending for the Gospel and God's righteousness in the public square is looking down at the next generation and are asking, "Who is following, who is coming up?"
And the answer, according to Rohrer, is "not very many, not as many as need to be."
But all too often, older pastors are not running in circles where they are interfacing with the younger generation, Rohrer noted.
To that end, the American Pastors Network is establishing a platform that deliberately connects younger pastors who have responded positively to the content in Rohrer's radio programs in mentoring relationships with seasoned, biblically faithful elder ministers who have been hard at it for many decades.
"If we believe, which we do, that the Scripture holds the answers to all issues of life, then in fact, the confusion of the day does not need to remain confusion of the day but it can be brought to clarity and purpose when biblical principles are applied to the issues," he said.
Rohrer, a former member of the Pennsylvania state house of Representatives, is passionate about bringing his convictions to bear on all spheres of life, particularly in the realm of government.
"The Christian life, biblical truth is real. It changes lives, it affects everything, everything that we do no matter our station in life," he said. "So if that's the case then we believe that God's model is that the pulpit is the place from which that needs to come."
So far, the response he has received has been overwhelmingly positive.
"There is a desire from many who are younger to learn from those who are older," Rohrer said, adding that, likewise, the older generation is concerned about the rising generation of leadership.
"But there's no bridge," he said.
CP asked Rohrer what theological criteria exists for participation in this endeavor given the theological differences within evangelical denominations.
The APN is based on three key truths, Rohrer told CP: "belief in the authority of scripture, belief in salvation by faith in Christ alone, and thirdly, have the courage to preach it."
"The agreement to those things, is the unity of the historic Christian faith. It is the unity that brings together old and young, black and white. It's the great leveler," he stressed. "It was our intent to say, 'let's establish the purposes of providing a framework for biblically faithful pastors to stand together.'"
At present, 10 states have chapters of pastors networks, and plans are in the works to launch six more.
APN's website notes that their purpose is build "a dynamic network of Biblically faithful pastors and citizen leaders who are committed to the Truth, who believe in the Authority of Scripture, who boldly preach the whole counsel of God with a disciplined application of a Biblical World-view to public policy, and who are building a permanent infrastructure of Biblically faithful pastors and lay leaders."
