A new normal is on the way (we’re still far from experiencing the “post-COVID” world). The old has gone, and the new is coming. Every ministry model has a season, and like all seasons, they have beginnings and endings.
We are experiencing a disruption of meaningful proportion.
What Happens if a Leader Interprets a Disruption as an Interruption?
We’ve all seen this happen to other businesses and churches in the past. It was much, much slower, but the path was the same (insert the standard Blockbuster, Kodak, and the empty church down the street example). Interpret disruptions as interruptions, and the death rattle begins.
The pandemic simply accelerated our need to interpret better and respond more definitively.
How to Make the Most of a Disruption
Disruptions aren’t the devil. Disruptions bring obstacles that we must reframe as opportunities. Every church and business must rethink its pre-pandemic mode of operations in the current pandemic experience. This strategic evaluation and evolution must continue as we (eventually) enter the post-pandemic world. Let’s remember, though. The trends were evident well before the pandemic. For most of us, it took the pandemic to shake us enough to try new things. We innovated out of force and desperation.
It’s time to think differently. Let’s call this crisis what it is — an utter and complete disrupting force.
Now that we’ve labeled it, we can begin leading within it.
If you’re a church leader, here’s a shortlist of areas that most likely demand disruptive innovations:
- Intentionally design digital experiences to foster connection and community, not simply content and information distribution.
- Test new approaches to sermons construction and presentation.
- Become customer-centric rather than building- or organizational-centric.
- Design discipleship pathways (that holistically include evangelism) that include online and in-person options.
- Rebuild your volunteer recruitment and retention strategies.
- Rethink how generosity campaigns as part of a discipleship effort.
- Consider new building designs and usage.
- Try different portable church options with more flexibility.
- Experiment with non-traditional service times and structures.
If I may, let me give you a much larger, necessary innovation: Become a FULLY HYBRID church. By this, I mean you don’t simply add some social media and stream your Sunday service and call it a day. A hybrid church is an entirely fresh expression that takes two separate elements (online and in-person) and combines them to create something new. You’re not a hybrid church if you added some digital ministry but didn’t change the physical experience. You’re a physical-first church with some digital additions. That’s what people do after an interruption!
