South Florida

A GLOBAL INFLUENCE

The Church must recapture its commitment to transforming culture, remembering Christ’s promise in Revelation 21 to make all things new. The Institute of Faith and Culture humbly accepts the call to be an agent of renewal in South Florida and through it, the world. The Institute of Faith and Culture at Coral Ridge is uniquely positioned for cultural renewal in the United States. The Institute is located close to one of the world’s three Fun and Finance Cities – Miami, one of the three key gateway cities in our globalized, yet connected world. This region has also become a major global influence as a midpoint between North and South America, the unofficial “Gateway to the Americas.”

In coming years and decades, South Florida will become the focal point of domestic missions efforts, South Florida is currently outpacing the rest of the United States in secularization and diminishing Christian identity. It is our hope that the Institute will become a hub for innovative approaches to cultural engagement and missional activity that will equip the Church in its work for generations to come.

A CHURCH IN CAPTIVITY

According to both Pew Research Center and The Barna Group, the next 30 years will represent the largest missions opportunity in the history of America and particularly in South Florida. As trends have already demonstrated, Christian affiliation within the United States has significantly decreased.

Barna discovered that South Florida is one of the most unchurched regions in the country. Only three percent of Broward County residents meet the criteria of being a committed Christ follower. These are individuals who:

1. Are personally committed to Jesus Christ

2. Believe they will go to heaven when they die

3. Believe salvation is possible through grace, by faith in Jesus Christ

4. Acknowledge that their faith is very important and the personal responsibility to share the Gospel with non-Christians is important to their life

The question for the Church in South Florida is, “How do we engage culture in such a way to expand the three percent?”