10. Gatherings will be smaller and larger at the same time.
While many might think the megachurch is dead, it’s not. And while others think megachurches are awful, there’s nothing inherently bad about them. Size is somewhat irrelevant to a church’s effectiveness.
There are bad megachurches and bad small churches. And there are wonderfully effective megachurches and wonderfully effective small churches.
We will likely see large churches get larger. Multisite will continue to explode, as churches that are effective expand their mission.
At the same time, churches will also establish smaller, more intimate gatherings as Millennials and others seek tighter connections and groups. Paradoxically, future large churches will likely become large not because they necessarily gather thousands in one space, but because they gather thousands through dozens of smaller gatherings under some form of shared leadership. Some of those gatherings might be as simple as coffee shop and even home venues under a simple structure.
We will see the emergence of bigger churches and smaller churches at the same time as the gathered church continues to change.
What Do You See?
Ultimately, I have a lot of hope for the future church. I hope you do too. The mission is too important to feel otherwise.
If you want some even more specific changes I think will characterize the future church (including a few not covered here), check out this post.
In the meantime, what do you see?
