6. Networks connecting pastors will grow exponentially.
The church tribe I’m a part of — the Restoration Movement — was the trailblazer for the independent, non-denominational church. Today, non-denominational churches are a norm.
But for as many positives there are for serving in an independent church that isn’t constrained by denominational oversight, there is a gigantic negative —– a lack of community and accountability among leaders.
To fill this need, I believe we’ll see more and more formal and informal networks materialize that make it a point to meet together regularly and share ministry insights as well as support and pray for each other.
But these networks won’t just be for non-denominational leaders, these networks will span across denominations, non-denominations, and (un)denominations.
7. Virtual reality experiences will begin to be a “front door” for first-time guests.
This may seem like an odd one but go with me here.
The church website and, when applicable, online church, have become the front door for many people thinking about attending a gathering.
But technology continues to advance forward and with that comes a more normalized avenue of virtual reality experiences.
What if someone could “come” to your church’s physical location from their home as a way of “checking out the church”?
They see your “new here?” tab on your website, click the link, and are taken to a page that features an option for a virtual reality tour/worship service. They click it, put on their VR gear and are taken to the perspective of someone in the parking lot, walking into the church. They can go through different experiences for whether they have kids or not, then they get to attend the worship service, listen to the band lead in worship, sing if they want to, and watch and hear a sermon from one of the chairs in the auditorium.
This may seem far-fetched right now, but it won’t in a few years.
8. More resources will go to children’s ministries.
The environments that megachurches create for their children’s ministries will be, on a smaller scale, of course, adopted by smaller churches.
Instead of having the kids meet in the stuffy basement, more churches will devote resources to making the children’s ministry experience top-notch.
More resources will go to spaces that are multi-functional for Sundays as well as throughout the week (more on that in a minute).
The children’s ministry staff will get more resources, not only for their environments but for their summer programs like VBS or the like and for additional staff.
If the kids love your church, their parents will want to come back. If the kids can’t wait to leave, their parents will likely not return.
9. More churches will design campuses to be gathering spots for their community.
Here are some things I think we’ll begin to see more:
- Churches that build buildings that can be used as community recreation and sports buildings during the week and church gathering space on Sundays.
- Churches that build outdoor spaces like parks, amphitheaters, and walking trails that are open to the community every day.
- Churches that start or partner with a coffee shop that wants an additional location to provide a safe gathering space for families to bring their kids (think: secure kids play areas surrounded by tables for moms, dads, grandparents, etc. to relax and talk with other adults), teens to hang out after school, etc. Combine that with live music in the evenings and you have a great space for your community to engage the next church.
There are many more possibilities, but with those examples, you get a glimpse of what could be. No one can do community like the local church. The next church will leverage this and create spaces for people to gather who are un-churched, de-churched, members of other churches, and members of their church.
10. Ministry education will dramatically change.
Many higher-education institutions are struggling, and Bible Colleges and Seminaries are among them. Couple this with the growing trend of churches not requiring a formal Bible College or Seminary education for many of their staff and you get a changing dynamic for ministry education in the future.
More and more churches will choose to start leadership institutes where they are training the next leaders of the church. Combine that with the growing number of ministry leaders offering online courses (join the waiting list for StickySermons.Academy — enrollment re-opens in September), the increased focus on leadership residencies (think: longer-term internships), and you can see where things are going.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Biblical education is super important. But the way we get that education is changing. And the way, thankfully, we are doing practical ministry training is changing.
Next Church – an exciting road ahead
Change is coming. But the road ahead for the next church is exciting. I hope you see that, too. We’ll face challenges, but God will continue to lead us through them.
This article on the next church originally appeared here.
