The Church of the Future

During the summer of 1964, while on tour with a youth choir, I had the opportunity to see what was for me the most modern design for a church sanctuary I had ever seen. It was a Presbyterian church in north Georgia. I thought the design looked like a space ship. It was very contemporary to say the least. I imagined that churches of the future would look like that. Boy was I wrong! I have yet to see a church that even resembles that architectural design.

What will the church of the future look like? I am not talking, however, about buildings and architecture. I am talking about the living, breathing, dynamic church of Jesus Christ. I affirm what Holy Scripture teaches—that Jesus established the church and the “gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” It is His Church. His Church is not composed of four walls and a roof. Neither is it composed of boards and committees, programs and activities. Today that is what most of us tend to think, because these have defined “church” in our lifetimes. But, in reality, the Church of our Lord consists of those who have responded to his call to salvation, and the call to be instruments of reconciliation, a light to the nations, and a blessing to others as they labor to fulfill the mission the Lord has given. What we have done is we have taken what we believed to be the Church and conformed it into our Church, complete with all the services, activities and membership requirements that we believed were necessary to be a “church,” adopting the corporate or educational model. Now we are experiencing difficulty getting people into this “church culture,” resulting in a significant percentage decline in church participation, membership, and contributions. All this is occurring in “church culture” while the broader culture professes a greater eagerness for spirituality. Somewhere there is a great disconnect. That is not to say the church has been totally ineffective, but rather is saying that we have reached a type of saturation point with our current church culture. Where does that leave us as we seek to chart a course for the future? Hear the words of God spoken through Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isa. 43:19 (RSV) What will the church of the future look like?

The church of the future will focus more on Jesus. People may be turned off to church, but they are not turned off to Jesus. The church of the future will focus on connecting people to Jesus. Like the Apostle Paul, whose burning passion was to “know Christ,” the church will lead people to Jesus, to live in relationship with Him, to KNOW Him. The church of the past has done an excellent job teaching ABOUT God, ABOUT Jesus. As a result, many of our members know all ABOUT God and His Son, Jesus. But, are they living in an intimate relationship with Him? What have we learned about relating to God, about loving God will all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

The church of the future will be a church on mission, or missional--focused on connecting people with Christ and with His mission. It will focus more on connecting people with each other and with their culture/world than on gathering them from their world. The church will realize her job is to change the world from her front porch. She will be passionately involved in living out her mission. Mission will be the essence of who she is.

The church of the future will reconnect or connect with its community. The focus will move from revitalizing churches to rebuilding communities. Gone is the luxury of the protective fortress. To survive, the church must move outside the walls and into the streets. I love The Message paraphrase of John 1:14, “And the word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” Jesus connected with people wherever he went. The church of the future will focus on what she is doing as she goes into all the world.

The church of the future will connect with the world. Artificial boundaries of cities, states, neighborhoods, and nations will fall as the church engages in her world mission. Creative relationships, partnerships, and meaningful associations will develop between Christians on different continents, in different cities, and between different denominations. The focus will be on the common good we can achieve by working together.

The church of the future will be a loving church, exemplifying in action the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Beyond all else, she will be known for unconditional love for all people. After all, that is what characterized Jesus.

Thankfully, some expressions of the church of the future are in existence today. The sad part of the reality is that these expressions are too few. To have a greater impact on our world, we need more churches of the future-TODAY!

Ken May, DoM
Montgomery Baptist Association
Alabama