Becoming a Vital Church

Posted on May 3, 2008
Filed Under future, leadership

There are very specific things that each and every local church must do if they expect to be around in the next 25 years. 25 years may seem like a random time frame. It’s not. That’s how long it takes for most churches to move from vital to declining (and soon to dead).

Honestly, most church leaders are not worried about what their church will look like in 25 years - they are just trying to figure out how to make things work for today. The good news is that these concepts apply to both today and tomorrow.

Let me begin by saying that I believe each and every local church has a mission to fulfill. No church is the “vermiform appendix” of the Body of Christ. No church had a purpose for existing in the past, but not one today.

Where that mindset exists, you have leaders who have missed what God is calling them to do and to be. I am not referring to the clergy when I use the term “leaders”, but rather the people who influence the direction the church is allowed to go.

Before this conversation begins, you need to ask yourself if you are actually open to doing whatever God may call you to do…or are you just hoping that God will bless what you choose to do.

Most North American churches are in the second category - and will soon be dead. What about you?