A Science-Engaged Ministry Bears Fruit

This approach has proved so effective that we have dubbed it The Standard Model, a play on words borrowed from a physics concept. The Standard Model of Particle Physics identifies the most fundamental particles of nature (quarks, electrons, muons, and the like) but also describes the relationships between them. Our Standard Model is similar: it’s about identifying key elements in our churches and establishing fruitful relationships between them.

“What made you want to join our church?” Pastor Luke asked a couple with young children…To his surprise, they answered, “The science programs.”

Also, like its namesake in physics, our Standard Model uses simplicity to take on great complexity. There is incredible variety in how individual congregations relate to science. This is in part because science will impact a university church differently than one in a farming community. A church near a major medical research hub may have different concerns than one serving immigrant communities. That is why this relational approach works well. The participating pastor(s) and scientist(s) know the distinctives of their congregation and they are granted a level of trust outsiders lack. Together, they model for others how to talk about issues of faith and science, some of which are complex and controversial. The Standard Model addresses two of the greatest barriers to fruitful conversation across differences: a lack of trust and an absence of models.

We have seen this approach work in both evangelical and mainline churches. It has worked in reformed and Wesleyan contexts. It has worked in churches that prioritize evangelism, those that prioritize discipleship, and those where evangelism and discipleship are entangled.  Moreover, it has worked with a wide variety of scientists: university profs and middle school teachers; grad students and retirees; engineers and doctors; representing a wide range of disciplines.  Those scientific distinctives often steer the direction of the church’s science programming, building on the intrinsic interests of the leaders, and then expanding outward as the congregation begins to realize the benefits of the work.

What is often most exciting to pastors, especially in the smaller churches we have worked with, is the new leadership roles these scientists embrace. Preaching, teaching, serving on boards, inspiring missions projects, and leading VBS are some of the ministries scientists have assumed. Volunteers are the lifeblood of most congregations, so this is another way our work benefits the church.

This prompted us to look at other churches and, sure enough, the most successful use of the Standard Model were churches that had a dual focus on the congregation and the wider community.  They integrated science into their ongoing programs and ministries, benefiting regular attendees. They also reached out to the community, using programs engaging science as a means to reach new people. And when those new people began to come to the church, they found science was something the church saw as important to its ministry.

…most churches rarely if ever positively mention science or acknowledge scientists as scientists. It is no surprise that folks who take science seriously think our churches do not.

Science as a Reason to Join the Church

Year after year, headlines tell us of new data showing the decline of religious participation in America. Opportunities for exit interviews too often outnumber interviews of new members. If you read the articles behind the headlines, science often comes up as one of the reasons folks are leaving the church. Moreover, many non-believers, “nones” and “dones”, are working in scientific fields. Yet, most churches rarely if ever positively mention science or acknowledge scientists as scientists. It is no surprise that folks who take science seriously think our churches do not.

As a whole, the church has lost an appreciation for the many different ways God is revealed to us and wants us to delight in creation; the very creation that scientists study and describe to us in increasing clarity and detail. We have not welcomed scientists, valuing what they do as a legitimate Christian vocation, and inviting them to partner with us in the work of the church. What would it look like if we did? At Science for the Church, we have gotten a glimpse of that in our years working with a wide range of ministries, learning what works, and ultimately leading us to the Standard Model. That work suggests things might be different if more churches considered how to do science for the church.