In high school I raced cross-country skiing, and one of the key lessons I learned is the importance of transitions. We can understand intuitively that the best technique for skiing across flat ground may not be the best technique for skiing up a big hill. So the question is – when faced with a big hill, when is the correct moment to change techniques?

One answer might be to switch to the uphill technique only after the technique for flat ground can no longer be sustained. But skiers soon learn that it is actually faster to change techniques just moments before she or he is forced to. This strategy allows the skier to transition successfully into the uphill without losing too much momentum.

The church is in a period of transition. It has been for at least a decade. Trends in church attendance would suggest that the Church in America is losing momentum, and I wonder if it might be time for the Church to change techniques before it loses its momentum altogether.

The trouble is, change is difficult. It requires discomfort and sacrifice. Churches do not change overnight, especially if they carry with them several decades of church history and tradition. Tradition is not easily broken.

But what if we had a fresh start, a blank canvas to try something new?

Church Planting offers us this blank canvas. It provides an opportunity for fresh ideas that challenge the way we think about Church. Given the time and opportunity, I believe that these new ideas can grow to maturity, generating the momentum necessary to propel the Church into the future.

But this has to start now. As the Church continues to lose momentum in America, it simply cannot afford to continue relying on a model that no longer suits the terrain it is in. It is time to start investing in new ideas that can carry us up the climb ahead of us.

* This post is strongly influenced by Tod Bolsinger’s Canoeing the Mountains (2015, Two Words Publishing).

A Church for the Future