In America, we’re facing a critical moment. For decades, church membership held steady around 70 percent, but between 2000 and 2020, it plummeted to 60 percent. Today, for the first time in generations, more Americans are outside the church than in it. Every generation—from traditionalists to millennials—is walking away at alarming rates.
Still, there’s reason for hope! Thousands are being baptized on college campuses across the nation. Bible sales surged 22 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, while overall print book sales increased less than 1 percent. God is pouring out His Spirit, just as Acts 2 promised. The question isn’t whether God is moving—it’s whether we’ll join Him in building His kingdom in this new landscape.
The story of Nehemiah shows us how to accept this challenge. After finishing Jerusalem’s wall, he faced the real work: rebuilding the city physically and spiritually. He understood that walls may protect, but culture is built by people, and he needed three kinds of people to rebuild well.
First, he needed developers—leaders determined to do what was right. In Nehemiah 7:1-2, after the wall was completed, Nehemiah appointed his brother Hanani and Hananiah to lead the citadel “because he was a man of integrity and feared God…” Notice what mattered most: not talent, charisma, or experience, but integrity and fear of God. To embrace our critical moment, we too need people who fear God and live with integrity—ones who won’t compromise when culture or convenience tempts them.
Second, he needed doers—teammates who took their roles seriously. Though the city was spacious, few people lived there and houses remained unbuilt, so Nehemiah assembled people who would do the actual work of reconstruction. We too need people who will work hard to be who God has called them to be in their communities. Not just people who talk about change, but people who change things as they go about their regular lives—working, loving, and living.
Third, he needed determination—resolution and firmness of purpose. In Nehemiah 7:73-8:1, when the seventh month came, “all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate.” Nehemiah knew he hadn’t simply returned to Jerusalem to rebuild a wall; he had returned to rebuild a culture. So he gathered the people, unified in purpose, to hear God’s Word and remember who they were called to be. Nehemiah understood what we must also recognize—when determination is strong and unified, God responds.
So here’s my charge to you, friend: think about what your children and grandchildren will say about you one day. I hope they’ll say this—that you cared about the world they lived in. You didn’t just complain about the darkness; you became a light!
Together, let’s not allow the present reality to discourage us; let’s allow the future to excite us. God is inviting us to join Him in building His kingdom, and there truly is no greater work!
