Brad Lomenick is the director of Catalyst. As someone who is in tune with the next generation of church leaders, I was really curious to see what Brad had to share on trends in the church. Here’s what he had to say:
TONY: What’s a current leadership trend that you’re seeing churches across the country begin to embrace?
BRAD: A big trend I see is collaboration. Collaboration among churches in a community, in a region, and even statewide and nationwide. With technology allowing leaders to share ideas and resources in a whole new way, I think we’ll see collaboration grow exponentially in 2011. Everything from mergers among local churches, shared staff and resources, mirrored programming, creative meetings held together, etc.
TONY: How do you see this trend impacting the future of churches?
BRAD: I think it will impact the future of churches positively. With more collaboration and partnering in cities, the Church will be seen as a force for good, and not just a building or destination. I believe that collaboration will lead to more opportunities for influence. We’ve seen this happen in Portland, Oregon over the past couple of years with the Seasons of Service initiative led by the Luis Palau Association and involving hundreds of local churches working together to impact their city. I also think that partnerships and collaboration between churches will save money, channel resources, and allow for smaller churches or churches with smaller budgets to learn and work alongside larger churches. This is a much needed area of improvement among churches — for all leaders to share their learnings and research and programs with one another.
You can follow more of Brad’s thoughts on ministry and leadership on his website. And, if you haven’t already, you really need to get to a Catalyst event in a city near you.
