As long as Jesus Christ lives, the religion that bears His name will live. Jesus Himself promised that faith in Him will never die. In Matthew 24:35, He said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (NKJV).
The early followers of Jesus took that promise to heart, and they let the promise encourage them as they took His teachings to the "uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8, KJV). A band of unknown fishermen were so convinced that Jesus was who He claimed to be that they refused to stop telling others, even when it meant their deaths.
From that motley group of 12 men came the over 2 billion people who currently call themselves Christians (religionfacts.com). Persecution was a driving force for them, and it continues to be a motivator to this day. The fastest growing region for Christianity is the area known as the 10-40 window: the area between 10 and 40 degrees north of the Equator. Interestingly, this area includes the Middle East, India, and China regions normally considered "anti-Christian."
So, the promise of Jesus has come true and continues to come true. Christianity has overcome countless obstacles and will continue to spread. As long as there are people on earth who hold to the words of Jesus of Nazareth, Christianity will prevail. That is certain.
What is not certain is how well Christianity will prevail. While many people claim a connection to Christianity, church attendance is declining. While even non-believers have a certain respect for Jesus' position on love and service, most people equate the word "Christian" with "hypocrite." While Christianity may be spreading in certain areas of the world, in other areas, such as Europe and the United States, the Christian church is losing its influence.
As with most things, the future of Christianity is what we as Christians make it. If we continue on our present course, the name of Jesus will diminish in our culture even as it grows in others. Yet, hope is not lost. One thing the church of America needs to realize is that the message of Jesus never changes, but the method of sharing Jesus must change.
The current generation of US citizens is made up of people who were not raised in church. Ask any teenager to tell you about Noah and the ark, and he probably can't. At best, he will make some connection to the movie Evan Almighty.
Not only does this generation have no Biblical knowledge, they also have a sense of entitlement whereby someone must earn the right to share with them. Five years of teaching high school students has shown me that they no longer automatically give respect. Anyone who wants to share any type of information with them must first earn their attention and trust. Once you have that trust, then and only then will they share their lives with you.
This is the generation that will soon lead our world. The church of Jesus Christ needs to acknowledge where they are, and they need to meet them where they are. If Christianity has any hope of growing in the US and Europe, we need to refocus our tactics. We need to focus on the basics, building that foundation of knowledge. We can't assume that they know what we are talking about, or that they care about it. We have to first build relationships of trust, a sense of community where we "do life" together.
The good news about this generation is that once they give themselves to something, they are in completely. If we can introduce them to Jesus in the right way, if we can clearly answer their questions so they know exactly what Christianity will mean to them, then we will have a force of faithful soldiers and servants that the world has not seen in almost 2000 years.
The problem with fighting a war that you know you will eventually win is that you tend to not fight as diligently as you otherwise would. After all, why should you? You know victory is yours. That is the type of battle Christians find themselves in. Jesus promised us that the gates of Hades could not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18, NKJV). It is perfectly understandable that His disciples would relax a little. However, there is more at stake here than final victory. There is a world that is lost, hopeless, and dying. If we continue relaxing, resting on the victory that is already ours, then countless souls will never get to experience that victory with us. If the world was important enough to Jesus for Him to give His life for it, should it be any less valuable to us?
Victory is ours - what do we have to lose?