Over the past decade, there’s been a lot of talk about the rise of the “nones”—people who check “none of the above” when asked about their religious affiliation. I have three concerns with much of this conversation from Practicing Christians:

1. A lack of curiosity – Many Christians engage with nones in ways they themselves find meaningful. Too many assumptions get made.
2. Anxiety about shrinking churches – Too often, Practicing Christians focus on getting nones back into church rather than ministering to them as they are.
3. Ignoring the cultural shifts that make being a none feel natural – If we don’t understand the age of authenticity (the zeitgeist since the 60s) conversations go no where.

What Do We Mean by Ministry, Hospitality, and the Age of Authenticity?

If Practicing Christians are going to engage nones well, we need to be clear on what we mean by ministry, hospitality, and the cultural moment we live in.

• Ministry isn’t just about passing on religious information. It’s about sharing life and making the presence of Jesus tangible.
• Hospitality isn’t about getting someone to commit to a belief system. It’s about welcoming them, no strings attached.
• The Age of Authenticity (a term from philosopher Charles Taylor) is the cultural shift where people seek spirituality on their own terms rather than through institutions. In this world, religion isn’t something you inherit—it’s something you craft based on what speaks to you.

The Pitch: L’Abri in a Food Truck

If you’ve seen Alien, you might know it was pitched as “Jaws in Space.” Here’s my pitch: L’Abri in a Food Truck.

L’Abri was a Christian study center started by Francis and Edith Schaeffer in the Swiss Alps in 1955. It became a sanctuary for skeptics and seekers who needed space to wrestle with Christianity outside traditional church structures.

In 2009: Amy and I visited a food truck in LA serving Korean tacos. I grew up in New Hampshire, where food trucks served fried dough not Michelin Star meals, so this was wild to me. The truck—Roy Choi’s now-famous Kogi Truck—was wildly successful, not because it waited for people to come to it, but because it went to where the people were.

That’s exactly what Christians need to do with nones. Instead of expecting them to walk into church, we need to go to them, creating spaces where real conversations about faith can happen—on their terms.

A L’Abri Food Truck isn’t a literal food truck. It’s a metaphor for creating spaces where curiosity, dialogue, and hospitality thrive. Here are a few examples:

• A friend of mine hosts a pipe and cigar club every Thursday. A non-Christian in the group recently told him, “This is the highlight of my week.” That’s a L’Abri Food Truck.
• Another friend simply asks cashiers, waiters, and strangershow he can pray for them. He’s never been turned down. That’s a L’Abri Food Truck.

The key isn’t a program—it’s a posture.

The Rise of the Nones

We’re in the middle of the biggest religious shift in American history. In the 1990s, about roughly 8% of Americans were religiously unaffiliated. By 2021, that number had jumped to 30%, making nones the largest religious group in the country.

Despite what some assume, most nones aren’t militant atheists. About two-thirds believe in God, and a fifth pray every day. Many even think churches do good in the world. But they’re not looking to join a church.

Why? Because many feel that religious institutions:

• Care too much about money, power, and politics
• Aren’t welcoming spaces for honest curiosity
• Offer monologues when they’re looking for dialogue

If we’re serious about ministering to nones, we need to stop expecting them to show up for something they don’t want and instead create spaces where real spiritual conversations can happen.

Lack of Curiosity-Moving Beyond Getting Nones to Church

Many churches focus their energy on getting nones to come back. But what if the goal wasn’t to get nones into church, but to get Christians into real relationships with nones?

Mark Matlock at Barna Group, argues that most nones need relationships before they’re open to church.This means we need spiritual halfway houses—spaces outside the church where curiosity can flourish.

These spaces:

• Prioritize dialogue over monologue
• Allow questions to be just as valuable as answers
• Show hospitality without expectations

If we make getting nones to church the goal, the relationship becomes transactional. But if we build relationships first, church becomes something they seek on their own terms.

Understanding the Age of Authenticity

If Christians want to engage nones well, we need to understand the cultural air we all breathe.

Sociologist Christian Smith describes today’s mainstream American culture as deeply individualistic and experience-driven. Many young people aren’t rejecting faith because they hate Christianity. They’re rejecting it because they don’t see how it fits with their search for meaning in an age of expressive individualism.

Instead of fighting this shift, what if we met people where they are—like Paul did in Athens?

In Acts 17, Paul tells the Athenians, “I see how extremely religious you are in every way.” He doesn’t start by condemning their worldview. He starts by affirming their spiritual curiosity.

If Paul stood in the cultural centers of the U.S. today, I imagine he’d say:

“Americans, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way.”

That’s our starting point.

The Way Forward: Go to the Nones

Nones aren’t coming to church, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t searching. The question is: Will we meet them where they are?

That might mean:

• Joining spaces where real curiosity happens (book clubs, hobby groups, local events)
• Creating hospitable environments where people feel safe to ask real questions
• Engaging in spiritual conversations that ask genuine questions rather being quick to offer answers 

Christian ministry has never been about getting people to show up to an event. It’s about sharing life, creating space for curiosity, and meeting people where they are.

If food trucks could disrupt the restaurant industry, maybe it’s time for a L’Abri Food Truck movement—one where Christians leave the four walls of the church and take the gospel to the places where nones are already searching.

And if that doesn’t work we can always do nothing and hope for the best…

Because he likes us,
Craig