“The good news is that every day, 100,000s of online searches (Google, Bing, etc.) are conducted for search queries related to the Bible and Christianity. The bad news is that, more often than not, search results for Bible-related queries never connect people back to confessional Presbyterian and Reformed churches — despite our robust commitment to the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God.”
Reformed Churchmen Publications, publisher of The Aquila Report, is announcing a new sister publication, the Bible Answers Project.
The goal of The Aquila Report is to build up the peace and purity of the Church, especially the Reformed and Presbyterian branch.
By contrast, the goal of the Bible Answers Project is to reach the lost, and connect them to Reformed and Presbyterian congregations.
For most of us, connecting with unchurched people is hard
“Fostering connections with unchurched people” is a major problem for most churches and pastors, including confessional Presbyterian and Reformed churches.
Most of us are probably familiar with the growing body of research:
- In 2021, Gallup reported: “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time.” As of 2020, only 47% of U.S. adults were members of “a church, synagogue, or mosque” … down from 70% in 1999. Meanwhile, the National Congregations Study published in 2021 found that “there are now about as many synagogues, mosques, and Buddhist or Hindu temples in the U.S. (9% of all congregations) as there are Catholic parishes (6% of all congregations)” and also that “one quarter (25%) of congregations teach the prosperity gospel – that God gives financial wealth and physical health to those with enough faith.”
- In 2022, Lifeway’s “Greatest Needs of Pastors study” reported that the two greatest needs of U.S. pastors were (1) “seeing their churchgoers grow spiritually” and (2) “making connections with those outside of their churches.” They also said that “disciple making and technology are the two areas of skill development they most need to invest in.”
- Last year (2023), Jim Davis and Michael Graham (a couple of RTS Orlando alums of the Reformed Baptist persuasion) published their book The Great Dechurching, sharing the results of their path-breaking research study: “As a nation, we’re currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in the history of the United States… About 40 million adults (16 percent) in America today used to go to church but no longer do.” Not to be outdone by our Baptist brethren, the OPC published an important New Horizons cover story entitled “Presbyterians and Nonverts”: “People who once identified with a Christian religious tradition but now identify with none are the fastest growing group in America today.”
- Earlier this year (2024), Pew Research reported that “28% of U.S. adults are now religiously unaffiliated” and Gallup reported: “three in 10 U.S. adults attend religious services regularly, led by Mormons at 67%”
The news headlines are dire and daunting for Bible-based, Christ-exalting believers of all denominations – including those of us in the confessional Presbyterian and Reformed camp.
But all is not lost. As our dear brothers on the Larger for Life podcast have recently been reminding us, King Jesus still rules and reigns! Christ has been exalted in his resurrection (WLC Question 51-52) and ascension (WLC Question 53). Christ is exalted in his enthronement at the right hand of God, where he makes intercession for all believers (WLC Questions 54-55). And Christ will be exalted when he comes again to judge the world in righteousness (WLC Question 56).
Answering the most popular search queries about the Bible and Christianity is a massive opportunity for P&R churches
Aaron Renn gave wise counsel at the end of his recent article about “the end of Protestantism”: “Rather than bemoaning the loss of the products of America’s Protestant culture,… perhaps we should instead look at what we can realistically do from here with the pieces that are actually on the board today.”
So … what are some of “the pieces that are actually on the board today”?
There are many things we could mention, not least the personal relationships we have with family, friends, neighbors, schoolmates, colleagues, and co-workers. Each one of these relationships is a treasure to be stewarded for God’s glory and our mutual joy.
What happens online is another one of “the pieces on the board today.” So what is happening online? Here there is good news and bad news.
The bad news is that many of our neighbors spend so much time online that we may literally never cross paths with them offline: “Non-religiosity is highly correlated to spending large portions of one’s social life online” (“Losing Their Religion,” by Benjamin L. Mabry, First Things, August 2023).
The good news is that every day, 100,000s of online searches (Google, Bing, etc.) are conducted for search queries related to the Bible and Christianity.
The bad news is that, more often than not, search results for Bible-related queries don’t connect people back to confessional Presbyterian and Reformed churches — despite our robust commitment to the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God.
For example, consider the following common search queries which each receive 10,000s of searches every year:
- “How many books in the Bible?” (40,000+ searches per year). Unless I have missed it, there is no Presbyterian or Reformed website in the top ten search results. And, to make matters worse, uber-skeptic Bart Ehrman’s website shows up near the top.
- “Spiritual ringing in the ears in the Bible” (25,000+ searches per year). As you might expect, the search results page for this query is full of false teachings. And there is no Presbyterian or Reformed witness in the top 10 search results. This search query (bizarre as it is) is an example of the hundreds (if not thousands) of popular Bible-related search keywords which are “weird,” “off-the-wall,” and “unhinged.”
- “What kind of woman was Esther in the Bible?” (30,000+ searches per year). Again, this popular query does not result in any answers from a P&R source. Maybe there is less uniquely “presbyterian” and “reformed” to say about Esther than about some other topics. But it is nevertheless a very popular search query, and represents a missed opportunity for outreach and engagement.
The good news is that, by working together, we can do something to change this lamentable state of affairs.
This is where the Bible Answers Project comes in.
The confessional Presbyterian and Reformed world is blessed with an abundance of excellent writers and teachers. I have no doubt that we can come up with top-quality, God-honoring, Christ-exalting answers to the most popular questions people are asking about the Bible today. Some of these questions are bizarre: “Does the Bible say anything about spiritual ringing in the ears?” Others are commonplace: “What kind of woman was Esther?” Many are crucial and foundational: “How many books are in the Bible?”
In fact, in many cases, these questions are already being answered by P&R writers and teachers. But they are not showing up at the top of search results. This is because they are being answered in a piecemeal fashion, across multiple tiny websites, without application of the principles of search engine optimization.
As I mentioned above, 100,000s of online searches are conducted for search queries related to the Bible and Christianity on a daily basis. Many of these searches are undoubtedly conducted by Christians who are already members of reformed churches. However, my hypothesis is that the vast majority of them are not. Two reasons: First, we know that the membership of NAPARC churches is less than 0.3% of the total population of the United States. Second, many of the most popular Bible-related search queries are weird and off-the-wall, addressing topics we rarely if ever discuss in our circles: “spiritual ringing in the ears in the Bible” or “meaning of 222 in the Bible” or “Jophiel in the Bible.”
For these reasons, I believe it is safe to say that the majority of Bible-related searches are being conducted by people who are not already part of a presbyterian or reformed church. In many cases, they may not be a part of any church (i.e., unchurched, dechurched, nonvert, etc.). Exactly how many searchers fall into this category is anyone’s guess. But I believe that we can reasonably assume that some unchurched people occasionally search for Bible-related topics online.
The question is this: When they conduct that Bible-related search, are they going to find a reliable answer? And are they going to be pointed to Jesus Christ and to a Bible-saturated church?
Leveraging search engines to connect unchurched people with P&R churches is simple, but not easy
From a 30,000 foot view, reaching unchurched people by publishing content to the most popular Bible-related search queries is simple:
- Research the most popular search keywords
- Create the highest quality content
- Connect website visitors to P&R churches and pastor
This is the stated methodology of the Bible Answers Project.
It isn’t rocket science. It is a simple and proven methodology. But it is not without challenges.
For one thing, researching popular search keywords requires the use of specialized software. This software has a bit of a learning curve.
For another thing, using a website to convince an unchurched person to step foot into a P&R church will undoubtedly fail without the Lord’s blessing. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Ps. 127:1).
But the hardest part is creating the highest quality content. It is not impossible, but the online marketplace of ideas is crowded. We should not underestimate the difficulty of standing out in the crowd. It will require wise stewardship of time, money, and talents over a long period of time. This is not an enterprise for the faint of heart. It is a task for “good soldiers,” “athletes,” and “hard-working farmers” of Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:1-7).
Despite the toilsome hardships, the journey of creating top-quality, search-optimized content for unchurched people is worthwhile
Yes, the journey will be hard, but it will be worthwhile.
First, God who cannot lie has promised to build his church and gather his elect from the ends of the earth. As URCNA pastor Rev. Michael G. Brown recently wrote: “The Spirit sends us to plant and water in the field that belongs to Christ, and Christ will ensure the increase (1 Cor. 3:6), for all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him” (“The Mission of God as the Grounds of Church Planting”). Or, in the words of the apostle Peter: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Second, by stretching yourself to consider the most popular Bible-related search queries, you will be better equipped to build relationships with unchurched people. Every day thousands of people ask thousands of weird questions about the Bible, many of them strongly influenced by skepticism or superstition. But that is the world we live in. These are, in the words of Aaron Renn, “the pieces on the board today.”
Finally, it is my belief that, by engaging in the work of the Bible Answers Project, thousands of unchurched people can be introduced for the first time to Presbyterian and Reformed churches and pastors. If we publish one top-quality article per day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year, optimized for the most popular Bible-related search keywords, it is sure to make a difference!
How you can get involved with the Bible Answers Project
If you want to help the Bible Answers Project specifically, you can:
- Pray: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places… Therefore take up the whole armor of God … praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication (Eph. 6:12,13,18).
- Give: Our goal is to publish 300 top-quality search-engine-optimized articles over the next year, starting in July. Writing, editing, and publishing these articles with the highest standards of excellence is going to require a lot of time and energy. So we intend to pay our writers and editors competitive market wages. For this reason, our budget for June 2024 to May 2025 is about $300,000, meaning that we need to raise at least $25,000/month for the next 12 months. Click here to learn more about making a donation. Reformed Churchmen Publications, the 501(c)3 organization which publishes The Aquila Report, has adopted the Bible Answers Project, and pledged $30,000 of seed money to get it off the ground.
- Write/Edit: We are looking for 40+ writers and four editors. Visit the “Join the Team” page on the Bible Answers Project website to learn more and apply.
- Connect: We are probably only two or three degrees of separation from everyone we need to know to make the most of these opportunities. Who do you know who might be interested in writing and/or editing? Giving? Praying? Please connect us with them!
No matter what, you can prepare your heart, your household, and your church to grow in hospitality, outreach, evangelism, and apologetics.
The Bible Answers Project is emphatically not designed to be a replacement for the worship and work of local congregations. It is simply an attempt to steward the collective talents of Presbyterian and Reformed content creators for the purpose of outreach. The local church with her ordinary means of grace is where “the real action” is. That’s the point: To draw unchurched people out of cyberspace into the life of local churches.
Daniel Vos serves, starting 1 June 2024 officially, as Project Manager of The Bible Answers Project. He is also Chief Executive Officer of Five More Talents, a digital agency which equips churches to use technology wisely in obedience to the Great Commission.