Christianity at a Crossroads, a four-part documentary series by filmmaker Martin Doblmeier, examines how congregations in the United States are responding to change. Its portraits range from a rural church closing to a Greenwich Village parish drawing young adults and house churches meeting in living rooms. They illustrate contrasting local experiences, not a representative survey of American Christianity.
What is Christianity at a Crossroads about?
The series looks at congregational life amid a backdrop the report describes as declining religious participation, generational change, institutional mistrust, scandals and changing church infrastructure. Doblmeier says he wanted to understand what religious decline means and whom it affects, while also looking for vitality alongside loss.
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In the Religion News Service interview, Doblmeier described the approach this way: “We tried to do it in a balanced way.” The report says the series features portraits of about half a dozen churches, alongside interviews with sociologist Ryan Burge, writer and ethicist Russell Moore, and pollster Melissa Deckman. One segment considers virtual-reality church.
Which churches and responses does the documentary portray?
The examples show different circumstances and choices. The report does not provide comparable attendance, budget or long-term outcome data for these congregations, so the portraits should be read as individual stories rather than proof that a particular approach works broadly.
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| Portrait | What the report describes |
|---|---|
| A rural United Methodist church in Michigan | A 120-year-old church that is closing. |
| St. Joseph’s Church, Greenwich Village, New York | A traditional Catholic parish described as drawing people in their 20s and 30s while continuing to present Catholic teachings. Doblmeier said, “We’re not doing anything different. We’re not trying to cater to this younger generation. We’re presenting what we think are the Catholic teachings, and we’re preaching out of the Catholic texts, and yet the (young) people are coming.” |
| House churches | A network of groups meeting in living rooms that the report says is growing across the country. |
| Christ Congregational Church, Silver Spring, Maryland | The congregation sold its building and temporarily met in another church’s basement. Doblmeier praised its decision to remain together as a community despite giving up its own building. |
| Resurrection Church, Kansas City | Doblmeier presents it as a community trying to combine social engagement with political awareness. |
These snapshots include different congregation formats, building arrangements and responses to change, but they are selected documentary examples. The report does not establish that they represent national patterns.
What does the filmmaker say about decline and Christian nationalism?
Doblmeier told RNS that production took about 20 months. The project began as a planned two-hour film and expanded to four hours as the team found more material. He said the series seeks to examine decline without overlooking signs of vitality. His hope for what remains was: “There may be a decline in numbers. But I think what’s going to be left is going to be the foundation of something unique and possibly even stronger.”
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The film also addresses Christian nationalism. Doblmeier cautioned that public attention to the movement may not reflect how many people adhere to its principles: “We wanted to highlight Christian nationalism, but I think we were clear to say the amount of noise that Christian nationalism makes may not really be reflective of the number of people who really adhere to Christian nationalism principles.” That is the filmmaker’s interpretation, not a population estimate.
Where can you watch the series?
Religion News Service reported that Christianity at a Crossroads began airing on public television stations across the country on Thursday, October 1, 2026, and would also be available free on the Journey Films website. That report gives launch information, not a current station-by-station schedule; check Journey Films and local public television listings for present availability.
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The RNS article frames the stories against flatlining growth, lower religiosity among younger generations and scandals affecting denominations, but it does not supply a named statistical series or attributable numeric estimate for U.S. churchgoing, religious identity or church closures. Doblmeier’s reference to “thousands of churches” on an edge is a broad description, not a sourced count with a year or underlying dataset.
For the same reason, the portraits cannot show whether a church’s approach led to sustained growth or what other congregations should do. The series offers reported examples and perspectives; it does not provide a measured comparison of their results.
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