One place I’m able to elevate my vision is on a trail, high above tree line. Climbing mountains offers perspective because I can catch a broader vision for the world around me. But not everyone who visits awesome places of beauty leaves with a great impression. In “Subpar Parks,” illustrator Amber Share highlights America’s most extraordinary national parks and their least-impressed visitors. Rating Bryce Canyon, someone wrote, “Too orange; too spiky.” A review of Yosemite National Park states, “Trees block the view; too many gray rocks.” North Cascades National Park was deemed as having “too many mountains, trees, and snow.” And a visitor to Yellowstone advised fellow travelers, “Save yourself some money; boil some water at home.”
These actual reviews of transcendent parks are both humorous and baffling. How can people leave a “meh” review after visiting amazing places that offer life-changing outdoor experiences?
In many ways, Barna could write its own version of Share’s book. After millions of interviews and hundreds of research projects during the past 40 years, we’ve heard our share of subpar church reviews.
- “I just go for the music; the rest annoys me.”
- “My church is outdated and somewhat judgmental.”
- “The members of my church are superficial and closed off.”
- “The pastor is cold and acts like a dictator.”
- And my favorite: “My church meets at my house, and I don’t really even want people over.”
Far too many people fail to experience the church as an awesome expression of God’s greatest gift to the world. People’s experiences and expectations can be off base, but they’re not always wrong. Friends, we can do better. We must do better!
7 Ways To Strengthen Today’s Church
We can build thriving churches—congregations that change lives, communities, and nations. We can embrace a more holistic, transforming, and faithful vision that impacts generations to come. Like the original architects of Westminster Abbey, our collective effort in the next decade can leave a centuries-long mark on society.
I see a future in which people are alive to Jesus, living faithfully and fruitfully where they live, work, and play. The Spirit of God literally leaks out, compelling others to follow him too. That’s one of the reasons we created—and now give away free—the Barna Church Pulse assessment. We think that churches can be healthy places, but that takes intentionality. And, knowing how we are doing helps us also to do better—for his kingdom.
So, what might it look like if churches and Christians embraced such a vision? How might this happen? Here are seven dimensions of a bigger vision:
1. Anchor People in Community.
The church must be an essential place where people belong. In an era marked by isolation and loneliness, each person should feel seen, valued, and loved. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV). Each person is a gift. Let’s create churches, congregations and spaces where we express and experience this truth.
2. Mobilize People’s Giftedness.
It’s time to move beyond consumer Christianity. Too much of church life revolves around attendance and consumption rather than participation and mobilization. Each person has unique gifts to share, and the church must grow in its ability to foster and develop those gifts and deploy them for mission. We need a reformation in helping people discover the masterpiece God created them to be. Research shows remarkable opportunities in this area. Churches can help people understand their stories, giftings, and abilities—and how God is calling them to contribute to his kingdom.
3. Train People To Flourish in the Real World.
The church must rethink its methods of forming and teaching faith, so people can experience the Lord’s precepts and goodness. As important as preaching is, we don’t learn discipleship from sermons alone. Think about what it takes to play the piano. You can’t master it by listening to someone talk about it; you need to put your fingers on the keys and practice! The church must become a place where people learn to live out their faith in hands-on ways. We need to double-down on creating thriving small groups, supporting healthy households as a primary place for spiritual formation, and develop mentors who invest in people’s growth and well-being.
4. Offer People a Grace-Filled Way of Life.
Believing in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is the basis for salvation. The equation is Jesus plus nothing. Yet you’d be surprised how much of our society—and the church—embraces a works-based creed. Corporate ladders, pecking orders, and you-get-what-you-deserve thinking dominate. This is so true of the Christian community that I estimate only about one in every eight self-described Christians really understands what it means to live as people of grace, under grace. The church often acts more like the older brother in the prodigal son parable—self-righteous and rule-bound. We need to return to the scandalous message of grace: that salvation is a free, unearned gift. This message isn’t just for unrighteous people but also for the self-righteous among us. When Christians live according to grace, we become an unstoppable force.
5. Harness the Church’s Collective Impact.
Imagine a church so unified in its mission that it transforms society. From serving the poor to addressing systemic injustices, our collective might is immense. Too often, though, congregations fail to harness the energy, vision, and passion of people—especially young people—to be a force for change. It’s easy to stay safe and do things the way we’ve always done them. Yet the gospel calls us to innovate. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19, NIV). Let’s harness a renewed vision for collective impact to tangibly change our communities.
