God Is Good All The Time!!

Future of the Church part 1 (of 5)

I told you about this reading from my Senior Pastor at LifeChurch, Craig Groeschel. This is a series on his theory of the future of the church....

What will the local church look like in the next ten to twenty years? This week I’ll offer some of my theories.

I’m writing from an American perspective. (Those of you around the world can help broaden my perspective.) Many of you will disagree. Please express your theories and we’ll learn from each other.

Larger and Smaller
Churches will become larger and smaller.

Some say mega-churches won’t last. Others think megas represents the only future. Some are convinced small churches will all die. Others believe small churches will be the only ones left standing.

I believe large churches will grow larger and small churches will increase in number.

Here’s why I believe this to be true:

The mega church can do so much with an abundance of resources (including money and people) having a regional, national or international impact. As multi-site ministries expand, the ability to reach more people efficiently will enable churches to grow exponentially.

To me, the biggest downside is that many people are becoming increasingly skeptical (even hateful) of mega-ministries.

As some people reject the mega version of church, house churches will also thrive. (The mega church actually can have both, but that’s a whole other subject.)

On the positive side of house churches, people can engage in deep community and thrive in Acts 2-like living. The danger (in my opinion) is that these groups could easily barricade themselves from the rest of the world and become inwardly focused.

In my opinion, the mid-sized churches will struggle the most to survive and thrive.

I’d caution people from taking pride in their preferred church size. Bigger is not best. Smaller is not best. Whether large, mid-sized, or small, the important thing is that Christ is preached and the gospel is lived.

What do you think?