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By John Marr

At the recent East Tennessee Christian Convention banquet, Leroy Lawson shared his thoughts on the kind of church he wanted to see for his grandchildren. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor proclaimed the emanate death of the church as we know it over the next 50 years. All of this got me to thinking. How must we as leaders in the church today lead through hard times and hard decisions to ensure that there is a church tomorrow that is not only relevant, but dynamic and strong?

Here are a few practical and imperative keys:

1.    Spiritually growing leaders. If we expect the church to be spiritually strong and a safe yet challenging place for both seekers and mature believers, the leadership must be constantly growing and drawing closer to God.

2.    Bathed in prayer. Many churches today have come unplugged and seem to be attempting to figure out ways to be more attractive to the world. While being relevant and culturally appealing in our methods is important for the attractional aspects of our churches,  if the leaders and thus the church do not have prayer as a foundation of their life and ministry all of our efforts will be fleeting and the church will be washed away in the tide of public erosion.

3.    Missional emphasis. Over the past 20 years attractional churches have captured the imagination of the masses and people have “flocked” to mega churches all across the country. But I think the tide is changing. If churches in the future are not seen as involved in the world and as agents of compassion, healing and social justice, people will not be willing to listen to the vital message of God’s grace. Leaders must be energized to lead our churches back to the forefront of our communities.

4.    United. It is a commonly accepted theory that some of the worst “politics” in the world occur within our churches. The leadership within our individual churches must unite around a core value of “it is NOT about me, but about Jesus Christ”. We must  break down the walls between denominational groups and unite around the essentials and refuse to allow our historical, methodological and sometimes minor theological differences to drive a wedge into Christ’s church and the influence we have as a unified body of Christ. If the church of tomorrow is to thrive, its leaders must set the course for a body that recognizes the importance of it’s various parts and works together to strengthen the whole body of Christ.

5.    Leaders must lead. Many of our church leaders today are either intimidated or refuse to lead in their own churches. Ministers, elders and ministry team leaders MUST pick up the gantlet and lead with energy and passion if the church is to make a difference in our increasingly “un-Christian” world.

By Lori Drain

The picture you see here is of my son, Gabe, in the formative years of his baseball career.  I believe it is a great visual for what can happen in our lives and churches.  Often times we go about are days, weeks and months taking a swing at this life God has given us with our eyes closed and covered and with only one hand on the bat!

Let me try to explain what I mean.  How often do we meander through life with our eyes shut having no goal or vision for where we want to go?  If I were to ask you, where do you see yourself in a year from now would you be able answer and would you know how you were going to get there?

As ministers and church leaders it is vital to successful ministries that we have goals and a vision for ourselves.  Where do we want to be a month from now in our personal walk with the Lord, our family life and our ministry?  Are we, as ministers, clinging to the Source of Life with both hands or are we barley hanging on?

Not only is it vital as individuals to have goals and a vision for where we want to be but it is also crucial that our churches have a vision set and a process developed to see the vision become reality.  God’s Word tells us “Where there is no vision the people parish” (Proverbs 29:18).

David Olson in his book, The American Church in Crisis, says “In reality the church in America is not booming.  It is in crisis.  On any given Sunday, the vast majority of Americans are absent from church.  Even more troublesome, as the American population continues to grow, the church falls further and further behind.”   Olson lists through out his book some very sobering statistics on the shrinking of the American church.  Truly people are perishing.  Could it be that we have failed to be purposeful- meandering through church life with no vision and plan for how to fulfill the great commission and grow disciples?

The staff at HIGHER ministries believes the church of Jesus Christ is God’s design and His plan to reach a lost world.  We believe it is essential that church leaders have a clear vision for their life and a clear vision for the churches they serve.  We offer coaching, mentoring and accountability services to individual leaders to help them become the leader God has called them to be.  We also partner with area church leadership teams to help develop and implement a clear vision for the future.

There is hope for the future of the church but as leaders we must be purposeful and not allow ourselves or our churches to meander through life with our eyes shut, swinging aimlessly  and with one hand on the bat.  The future depends upon you and me.  Allow me to encourage you forward.  HIGHER Ministries highly values the church and its dedicated leaders.  We desire more than anything to partner with you, your staff and leadership teams in order to fight against what David Olson calls ‘The American Church in Crisis’.  It is past time to take action.  So give us a call today and allow us to help you and your leadership teams set a vision and action plan that will score a home run for the Kingdom of God.