Last Sunday at Grace Bible Church of Phoenix, President Ken Keefer brought a timely and challenging message titled “Construction and Deconstruction of the Church.” Drawing from a landmark new study called The Dechurching of America, Keefer walked through the alarming statistics of church decline in America, the psychology of deconstruction, and — most importantly — what it looks like to rebuild on the only foundation that holds.
The Largest Religious Movement in American History
Keefer opened with a startling fact: since the late 1990s, America has experienced the largest movement away from church attendance in its history. The study, conducted by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, tracked church attendance over 25–30 years using clear definitions — “churched” meant attending more than once a month; “dechurched” meant attending less than once a year. The numbers are striking.
15% of all Americans — roughly 40 million people — have now dechurched, including 15 million who identify as evangelicals. To put that in perspective, if you combined every Billy Graham crusade and all the Great Awakenings, they still wouldn’t match the scale of this present exodus. Keefer noted that for those of us old enough to remember the 1950s–70s, we actually lived through the most churched era in American history. That era is now over.
Deconstruction: When the House Starts to Crack
ButKeefer made an important distinction between dechurching (stopping church attendance) and deconstruction (questioning or abandoning core Christian beliefs). They often go together, but they’re not the same. Deconstruction is what happens when someone inside the church starts to silently dismantle their own faith — questioning the virgin birth, the reliability of Scripture, the call to sexual purity, the uniqueness of Christ.
“The deconstruction is happening for people in the church,” Keefer said. “And the people that have dechurched — it’s happening in both cases.” He was quick to acknowledge that some questioning is normal and even healthy — every generation asks whether their parents’ faith holds water. The problem isn’t the questions. The problem is what we do with them.
“Every one of us in every generation does some deconstructing. The fallacy isn’t that we deconstruct and ask the questions. It’s what we do with those questions.”
— President Ken Keefer
Why Is This Happening?
Keefer identified several drivers behind both the dechurching and deconstruction trends:
- Distrust of institutions — From higher education to government to media, Americans are skeptical of all large institutions, and churches get lumped in. “If you’re not a person who believes in any institution anymore, then you group the church in that category.”
- Social media and diverse worldviews — The internet has made it possible to explore every spiritual perspective from your living room. People encounter critiques of Christianity alongside the faith itself, and algorithms reward the most provocative voices.
- Burnout among high-performing Christians — It’s one thing when fringe believers drift away. But when committed, serving Christians burn out and walk away — never to return — that’s a wound the whole church feels.
- Conformity over unity — “We struggle with the prideful prioritization of conformity over unity,” Keefer admitted. When churches communicate that there’s one acceptable way to look, think, and vote, people who don’t fit that mold feel like outsiders and leave.
The Destinations of Deconstruction
The results of unchecked deconstruction are not good. Keefer described them honestly: cynicism, isolation, and the irony of Christians who know the truth but stop practicing it. “You become this big group of what you’re against,” he said, recalling a missionary who summarized his team’s faith as nothing but a list of things they opposed — drinking, dancing, water baptism. “That’s not what we believe. That’s our practice.”
“If we are known by what we’re against, we’re in big trouble.”
— President Ken Keefer
Rebuilding: Inspection, Foundation, and Construction
Here was the heart of the message. Keefer called the congregation to follow Nehemiah’s model: go out at night, survey the ruins, and then rebuild. “Let’s admit it — we’re not perfect, and there are flaws,” he said. “There’s cracks, rotten boards, leaks, and neglect.” The question is whether we’ll be honest about it and then build well.
1. Firm Up the Foundation (Colossians 2)
Paul’s letter to the Colossians gives the blueprint. When false teachers were adding layers of rules and philosophies, Paul circled back to the main thing:
“My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
— Colossians 2:2–3
Building on Christ means protecting people from counterfeit foundations — political programs, social movements, and self-help philosophies that promise more than they deliver. Keefer put it sharply: “There are no political or social programs that can answer humanity’s most significant needs like Jesus Christ in the gospel.”
2. Practice the Community (Colossians 3)
Keefer read Colossians 3:12–13 as the job description for a rebuilding church:
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievance you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
— Colossians 3:12–13
The study showed that the leading reason dechurched people would consider returning is relational — someone reaching out with genuine care. “It takes physical presence to practice the ‘one anothers,'” Keefer noted. “A handshake and a hug restores my soul mentally, emotionally, physically.” Watching online is a poor substitute for actually showing up.
3. Build with Care (1 Corinthians 3)
Keefer ended with Paul’s warning to the Corinthian church: each person is building on the same foundation (Christ), but the quality of materials varies wildly — gold, silver, and costly stones, or wood, hay, and stubble. “We need to build well,” he urged. “God will tell us — was our effort what built the church, or were we responsible for people falling away?”
“God has a plan for the world today, and it’s the church. There’s no Plan B. God’s decided in this dispensation of Grace, He left the church — the body of Christ — to represent Him in this world.”
— President Ken Keefer
So What?
This message is a challenge and an invitation. If you’ve been deconstructing your faith — or have already walked away from church — know that the door is still open. The God who made you hasn’t moved. The gospel hasn’t lost its power.
If you’re still in the building, the challenge is to inspect your own heart: Are you building on Christ, or on something else? Are you practicing the “one anothers” with the humility and patience that the New Testament demands? Are you so known for what you’re against that no one can tell what you’re actually for?
Keefer closed with a charge to every believer: “We love Jesus Christ. We give our all for Him. We love the people of God. But then we love the others that Jesus Christ loves — no matter where they come from, no matter what they look like, no matter what they’re engaged with. Jesus Christ died for them. They are redeemable.”
“Jesus Christ is a greater Savior than any sinner’s greatest fall.”
— President Ken Keefer
Scripture References
- Colossians 2:2–3 — The mystery of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
- Colossians 2:6–8 — Live in Christ, rooted and built up — avoid worldly philosophies
- Colossians 3:12–13 — Clothed with compassion, kindness, humility — forgive as the Lord forgave you
- 1 Corinthians 3:9–15 — Building on the foundation of Christ — each builder takes care how they build
- 1 Corinthians 12 — One body, many gifts, Christ is the head
- Titus 2:11–14 — The grace of God trains us to say no to ungodliness and yes to good works