Ten Major Changes in Ten Years

In the blink of an eye, ten years will pass. The pace of change is staggering, and there is no reason to believe the pace will slow down. In the comments on my blog post last week on growth rates among churches the previous ten years, a prescient reader asked me to look forward. “What do you think a healthy church will look like in 2029,” he asked.

I am grateful for his question. And though I can’t know with precision the shape of our churches in ten years, I do see some outliers and trends pointing us toward some key directions. Let me take those signposts and fast forward ten years.

Keep in mind, these changes are representative of the healthy churches in 2029. I may deal with the unhealthy churches in another post.

1. There will be a high intentionality of evangelism and gospel presence. We passed through the phase of programmatic evangelism without much impact. We are presently in the stage of non-intentionality, and our low-conversion churches reflect that reality. Healthy churches will be highly intentional about evangelism without it being program-driven.
2. These churches will be favored in the community. Someone recently asked me if most churches had a negative reputation in their communities. I told her no, that most churches have no reputation in their communities. The healthy church in 2029 will seek see the community as a place to serve and minister, rather than a pool of prospects to increase attendance. Look also for neighborhood churches to increase their impact in…