HOUSTON -- Cutting-edge churches can use a variety of styles to reach the unchurched, according to speakers at a Houston conference that drew more than 3,000 church leaders and members.

One of the most pressing issues for churches is the growing postmodern culture, said North Carolina pastor James Emery White. White was one of more than 100 speakers at the "Church on the Cutting Edge: A 21st Century Legacy" conference Sept. 30-Oct. 2, according to the Baptist Press.

"We took this massive cultural change that was sweeping our nation and our world, and we reduced it to a generational grouping," said White, pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte. "We didn't know what else to do…but postmodernity is bigger than that. It cuts across all ages."

White's 10-year-old church averages 3,000 in weekly attendance. More than 80 percent of those attendees previously didn't attend church.

"It's not just that people are far away from Christ and His Church in their life and knowledge," White said. "They no longer see their spiritual search even involving the discovery of any faith or religion."

Ed Young Jr., pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, said a liberal dose of humor can help churches be more effective.

In one analogy, Young said his church -- which averages 16,000 in weekly worship attendance -- found a creative way to deliver a sermon on the apostle Paul's baptism of a man named Crispus. Church staff filmed a video on "Crispus Kremus" at a local Krispy Kreme store. The donuts are "baptized" in the sugar, then carefully placed in the box like members in a church, ready to feed others.

"We should never give a half-baked presentation of the bread of life," Young said. "We should serve the food in the most compelling and creative way as possible."

The event was sponsored by the North American Mission Board and Second Baptist Church in Houston. Many of the conference sessions are available through streaming video online.