Faith for the Curious & Urbana '25

How are American Christians thinking about engaging non-Christians in the United States? According to recent Barna research there are 60 to 80 million Americans who don't fit the paradigm that a lot of Christians have about those outside of the church. They are not really hostile to discussions about faith and spirituality and are actually spiritually curious at the right moments. Join Ted Esler's conversation with Mark Matlock, the Executive Director of the Urbana Student Missions Conference and also author of Faith for the Curious: How an Era of Spiritual Openness Shapes the Way We Live and Help Others Follow Jesus. Mark Matlock is a facilitator of innovation and impact, helping organizations adapt to changing times through turning research based insights into action. The founder of WisdomWorks LLC a consultancy helping churches and faith-based organizations leverage their collective wisdom and insight to innovate and adapt in changing times. Mark also works with Barna to assist clients with board training and on-site facilitation of research findings. Mark has been an advisor to organizations such as the Seed Company, Youth Specialties, Young Life, Awana, Brotherhood Mutual, Movement.org, BetterMan and has served as a board member of the American Bible Society. Mark is the author of more than 20 books for teens and parents, and in 2019 co-authored Faith for Exiles: Five Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon with Barna Group President David Kinnaman. Having initiated many research projects with Barna over the last two decades related to Next Gen studies, Mark’s research continues to provide insights into emerging generations and how to cultivate faithful disciples.Mark is an ordained minister, certified LifePLanner, LEGO Serious Play facilitator, and MCORE trainer and coach. Mark is also certified as a HopIn online platform agency. He’s been married for 30 years to his wife Jade. They have two adult children.The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Curious-Spiritual-Openness-Shapes/dp/0801018714https://www.urbana.org/