3. Location Independence Will Rise
In many ways we’ve already seen this emerging, but there are a growing number of churches who will start to minister independent of location.
In the future, many will consider a church to be their home church, even though the church is in a city they’ve never been to.
Some leading churches are already getting innovative and are facilitating viewing parties, remote baptisms, remote gatherings, small gatherings and other connections will be part of the new normal for churches.
In the same way more workers are increasingly location-independent thanks to technology, more churches will emerge as location-independent.
4. Pop-Up Churches Will Become More Common
Remember that the future will be more digital and analog. One will not kill the other. As technology increases so does the need for human connection.
In thriving ministry models, both digital and analog will grow.
But as every church leader knows, to open a new campus or church in a new community takes time, money, risk and experimentation.
That’s why you’ll see more pop-up churches in 2018 than before.
In the same way you’ve seen the rise of pop-up restaurants or pop-up stores, you’ll see more pop-up churches that open in a new location for a night or a month or a season.
We’ve done for that last two Christmases at Connexus Church, hosting Christmas services now in four cities where we didn’t have permanent locations. (I shared the strategy here.)
We’re adding a new permanent location as a result of that.
You can rent old churches, theaters, restaurants, banquet halls or whatever to bring your church into a new community. It gives you a chance to test the waters for expansion and to bring the hope of Christ into a new place without making a massive initialy investment.
Again, practically speaking, maybe just do a night of worship somewhere in a different city where you have a small pocket of people driving to attend your church. Or find a city where you have some traction online.
Then just do one or two events there really well and see what happens.
