What Will The Church Of The Future Look Like?
In the mid 2000’s, while attending a Bishop’s College in Fredericksburg, VA, I heard one of the facilitators say that a good mission statement will always help keep you grounded and focused. Last week, I heard Pastor C. E. Stowers, Jr. say the same thing. This statement is as applicable in life as it is in business. When you feel as if you may lose your way in life or want to ensure that you are headed to your True North, reread your personal mission statement. If you need assistance in developing a personal mission statement, Barry Davenport provides a helpful step-by-step post that is well worth reading.
Many people all around the world are hurting, trying to find clear direction for their lives and some do not know where they can turn or in whom they can trust in order to obtain assistance. Unfortunately, some are not even certain if they can find assistance from the church. (To be clear, when I write “church”, I am talking about the people who have accepted Jesus, not the facilities in which we worship.) As the church, we have an awesome Mission Statement:
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Christ wants us to be mission minded – intentionally. He actually expects us to relate with the people around us. Why would we not relate with them? In Jesus, we have the best gift ever. There never has been, nor will there ever again be anyone greater that Jesus!
We are victorious in, by, and because of Jesus! The way to share this with others, however, is to direct them to Him as He takes all of us higher. We cannot help others go higher and put them down at the same time. While we may face what others face, our mission reminds us that we are uniquely positioned to be able to help strengthen those around us to look and live like Christ so that they too will want to reach a friend on the behalf of Jesus.
To be mission minded is to reach people for Christ, in order to help disciple them and, in-turn, show those individuals how to reach people for Christ, so that they can disciple others, and so on and so on…
This is not a new phenomenon. The call to get back to our true mission of personal discipleship was being written about and shared even during the mega church boom of the late 1980’s – early 1990’s.
Carl George, in his book Prepare Your Church For the Future (first published in 1991) lists several key points that puts everything into perspective. These points are very applicable today.
They include:
1.) Churches of the future will be committed to making more and better disciples. Anything less won’t do.
2.) Churches of the future will be more concerned with the size of the harvest than with the capacity of their facilities.
3.) Churches will be primarily known as caring places rather than teaching associations.
4.) Pastors will genuinely encourage ministry by the laity, despite centuries of modeling to the contrary.
5.) Finally, in the church of the future, pastors and people will remain dependent on Holy Spirit to make His gifts available for mutually edifying one-another ministry.
It is only when we step back and look at the “big picture” that we begin to take the steps necessary to effectively reach and retain the lost, wounded, hurt, lonely, etc. of our world. This is ministry and life with the mission in mind. A mission that is over 2,000 years old.
YOUR TURN
What are some ways in which you are living-out the mission that Jesus has provided?
How has being mission minded (for Christ) benefited you the most?
