Somewhere around 2/3 of people who grow up in churches leave them after age 18, and many never return. Some leave Christianity entirely. Others just see church as unimportant to their lives and stop going. But there is another mindset that intrigues me, and I’m seeing it more and more among young Christians:

I wanted church to be different,
but I met only resistance, so I left.

Maybe my ministry circles just have a disaffected edge to them, or maybe there’s a genuine trend of Christians —especially millennials— wanting to give church an overhaul. Author David Kinnaman called these frustrated young Christians “exiles.” Think about that word for a minute:

In the Old Testament, the exiles were God’s chosen people who were taken from their homeland and had to live in another culture where they had little control or influence. Amid their fear, the prophet Jeremiah urged the exiles to settle down, make this new place their home, and trust that deliverance would eventually come.

Kinnaman invites a comparison with his word choice:
For these exile Christians, it’s like they’ve lost their homes and are living in a new culture with different expectations and values. They feel out of place around traditional churches, but they’re building a home in the popular culture and seeking to serve God there. With so many of the college students, community leaders, and bar patrons I encounter fitting this demographic, I’ve noticed a few trends:
– Exiles continue to seek spiritual growth and ways to serve their communities.
– Walking away from a church is an isolating experience, so exile Christians frequently seek out and build community.
– Many exile Christians carry hurts from past church experiences and have difficulty trusting churches as a result.
– The exiles’ criticisms of church can be productive to an extent, but if that criticism never evolves into creativity, it will manifest as bitterness instead.

I strongly identify with this group and feel a calling to walk beside them. I’ve had some church hurts myself, so it doesn’t shock me to hear someone utterly unload about their old church. I’ve had some great conversations over coffee or beer with Christians looking to bring their creativity to a place that no longer feels like home. These are good people looking for ways to serve.

In a recent Liturgists podcast, Mike McHargue used the phrase “exile church,” and it got me thinking: With the exiles’ natural inclination toward community, we’re going to see more and more exile-led churches pop up.
What will these churches look like?
How will the exile Christians channel their criticism?
How will they collaborate with more traditional churches,
or will they collaborate at all?

I don’t know yet what the exile churches will look like, but I’m excited to see how their journey unfolds.