A pastor called me into his office and said, “We have tried six or seven new programs, and nothing is working to reach our church or school families.” Are you feeling frustrated because:
- You have families you don’t see at worship from February to June during baseball season?
- Your people take time to be at the gym two to three times a week, but can’t get to a small group twice a month.
- You keep offering different programs, but few people, if any attend.
Sound familiar? Are you wondering how you are supposed to: create Christian community, create a space for discipleship and transformation, or equip them if they are not there? It’s heartbreaking for so many leaders and yet, we are seeing glimpses of hope.
There are churches out there experimenting:
- Willow Creek is running an experiment called, “The Practice.”
- Hope Church in Phoenix, Arizona, started with Elevate Coffee Shop where they built missional communities and continues with a Barn and Gardens that function as an event venue and worship gatherings.
- Trinity Lutheran in San Pedro is providing a family worship gathering followed by a meal and seeding new young adult communities.
- La Canada Presbyterian Church offered free Group Spiritual Direction through mature volunteers to a significant number of people and graciously trained other churches to do the same.
- Apex in Dayton, Ohio, has created missional communities, and affinity blocks.
And the list goes on...Email me with one of your favorites!
I don’t know that any idea or any paradigm is “the answer.” Often, it’s an issue of experimenting and tweaking them to work in your environment. In many churches, the paradigms that have served us well for so many years are no longer working.
Are you ready to explore new paradigms? Are you ready to go on a spiritual pilgrimage?
