Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them

In a poll result highlighted by CNN Headline News and USA Today, nearly half of nonchurchgoers between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine agreed with the statement, “Christians get on my nerves.” Now, researchers behind the larger study present Lost and Found, a blend of dynamic hard data and modern day parable that tells the real story of an unchurched generation that is actually quite spiritual and yet circumspect, open to Jesus but not the church. As such, Lost and Found is written to the church, using often-surprising results from the copious research here to strike another nerve and break some long established assumptions about how to effectively engage the lost. Leading missiologist Ed Stetzer and his associates first offer a detailed investigation of the four younger unchurched types. With a better understanding of their unique experiences, they next clarify the importance each type places on community, depth of content, social responsibility, and making cross-generational connections in relation to spiritual matters.

Len Sweet talks about Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age as that one-stop, one-shop wonder that makes obsolete all the alternatives. In this book, Ed Stetzer lays out a case for missional church planting and then describes the process to plant healthy new churches. He combines the theological and the practical in one book. The book looks at cultures and how to reach persons in those cultures through the tools within the cultures themselves. It also provides a new look at emerging trends in churches reaching postmoderns. Then, it provides step by step instructions about how to plant churches in today’s world. Solid experience (from Stetzer and dozens of examples), Biblical roots, and fresh insights into the postmodern world make this a must read for the church planting hoping to make an impact.