The culture continues to change rapidly around you as a leader, and especially as a church leader.
If anything, the pace is accelerating, not slowing.

The question is: are you and your team ready for all that’s ahead?
It’s critical church leaders keep trying new things and keep experimenting.
Why? Because the gap between how quickly you change and how quickly things change around you is called irrelevance.






Too many church leaders are perfectly equipped to reach a world that no longer exists. WE NEED A MOBE BEYOND CHURCH IN A BOX.

Let me start out by saying I’m a huge supporter of the local church. Anyone who’s read these pages would know that. The mission of the local church is the most important mission on planet earth. Which is why this issue is so critical.

This year I think more leaders than ever are going to rethink our centuries-old model of making people come to a building on Sunday. If you think about it, most churches (even growing churches, new churches and large churches) effectively say “We’d love for you to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, and to do it you need to join us at a set hour every Sunday in a particular space we meet in. Beyond that, we’re not sure what to do.”

That’s a remnant from a day when everything was done on a set clock. You sat down Thursday night at 8 to watch your favorite show, because you didn’t want to miss it.

Of course, for years nobody has watched any show at a set time unless it’s a live game or a live event. You watch everything else on-demand wherever and whenever you want.

Shopping happens on your phone 24 hours a day, not during the set hours of a physical store that has limited stock. Streaming has changed how we listen to music. You don’t own music anymore. You rent access to anything, anytime, anywhere.

And yet in the church, we perpetuate a model that says “We have services on Sunday. We do midweek services. And that’s how we help you come into a relationship with Christ.” The cultural change has been underway for decades, but the church has been slow to adapt.






For years, we’ve noticed that even committed Christians are attending church less often but this is the year we’ll see more and more church leaders re-imagine what it is to be the church.

There’s never been a greater need in our culture for community and connection. The church isn’t going away anytime soon. So what’s the rethink here?

Future churches will have a building…they’ll just reach far beyond it. You’ll still need a facility, —some space in which to meet. But you’ll need to think way beyond it.
Bottom line? Churches who only think Sunday and who only think building will continue to shrink.

In 2020, if coming to Christ means coming to your church in a set location and a set hour, you need a new strategy.

THE DIGITAL WILL BECOME REAL

So what does better engagement beyond a set time and place on a Sunday look like? That’s a great question, and it the answer will require a ton of experimentation, but for sure it involves your digital reach. For years, the church has been questioning whether their digital space ‘counts’—whether it’s real. Questioning people who read bible on phone. But increasingly that question is becoming downright silly.

And naturally, we need to figure out how to engage with people we may never meet. Have we figured that out yet? Well no. No one has; we don’t know what it means. But just because you don’t know the answer doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask the question.
In 2020 ask the digital question at your church.

I get that you may not have a million naira to throw at technology. Or even 1,000 naira. But you probably have a free Facebook page or an Instagram account. Start treating that as real in NOW and see what happens.

To be continue...........

Prophet Gilbert Fasesin is a specialist on church growth.





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