These days, online divisions have led many Americans to fear big family gatherings, but we need them. In a recent article, Trevin Wax explores one of the reasons: Across the globe, childbearing has decreased to the point that many observers predict the global population will peak in the coming decades. “Not since the 1300s, when the world’s population imploded due to the bubonic plague, have we faced a demographic downsizing of the magnitude projected for the century ahead,” writes Wax. With fewer children, the world as a whole is graying. It’s not just the West. East Asia, Latin America, and even parts of the Middle East now face subreplacement fertility rates.

After exploring reasons for this decline, Wax suggests several implications for the church. He says we need to reengage the elderly, support marriages, celebrate children, and cultivate more ministry to and alongside singles. As I read Wax’s reflections, it struck me that the kind of church he’s advocating for would look a lot like a healthy, multigenerational family gathering—the kind that honors elders, welcomes neighbors, and shows love to each member despite his or her differing interests, opinions, and household makeup. Such churches model a beautiful, communal life that’s bigger than family, one held together by Christ’s blood.

“The demographic challenges ahead are immense,” writes Wax. “The solution isn’t to merely decry the reasons for the demographic decline. . . . Our hope isn’t in birth rates or demographic trends but in the Lord.” He is the One who “sets the lonely in families” (Ps. 68:6, NIV) and preserves his church even amid a depopulated world.