Ready to get back to normal? Many leaders are eager to return to Sunday services, well-oiled programs, and a professional staff as the primary focus. There may even be a sense of confidence now that we have strengthened our online streaming and social media presence during this season of disruption. However, we must ask: Are we missing the seismic shift in church culture that is currently underway? The pandemic has simply provided clarity on a movement that has been growing underground for years, signaling a renaissance for the church that is only now becoming evident to the masses.
History may view this era as a fundamental transition from building and planting churches as we have traditionally known them, to focusing on building people exactly where they are already divinely planted. This shift is not merely about equipping congregants to start a prayer group or invite neighbors to a specific building or program. Instead, it is about empowering people to purely love those around them—including the most vulnerable—while walking alongside them and providing the resources necessary to achieve God’s design for their lives.
As we navigate this new landscape, many are starting to rethink megachurch relevance post-pandemic and are witnessing a significant shift toward movements and mustard seeds. This evolution marks a departure from centralized programming toward a decentralized, relational model of ministry that prioritizes organic growth over institutional expansion.
Church planting will take on new significance when we see the “churches” are already there. It’s the people of God already planted in the marketplace who need to be equipped by us—not with a tired church planting model, but with an operating system and tool kit powered by the Holy Spirit to love people authentically and supernaturally. It’s a shift from the recent emphasis on the production of Sunday services to developing our people with more customized care, communication and investment of resources in them.
Instead of using this time of crisis to preserve and protect what we had going well, we should creatively use it to nurture the seeds that were planted years ago that are now growing through the fractured ground of our culture.
These seeds are a new generation that see race, the stewardship of the planet, Jesus, life, the death penalty, global collaboration, creativity, diversity, and politics differently. They are a new group of ethnic and cultural minorities who have become the majorities in our cities. Diverse leaders will emerge that will be younger and more in tune with what has been growing underground. What they find of great value may be more in tune with the Jesus we read about in the Scriptures than the current heroes of the church.
Once you move past the shock and stress of the changes you’re now seeing, you may get excited because God is doing an old new thing. This pandemic provides a longer look into our future. New heroes, new currencies, new emphases, new ways of communicating, new collaborations, new technologies.
No need to fear, because this is the moment of great opportunity to be a part of what God is creating for our children and our children’s children. It’s a time to honor the past but also to ask God for a new set of eyes to see new leaders and new frameworks, a new set of ears to hear new songs and new languages that he’s created.
It’s time to define the new reality—to realign our priorities and reallocate our resources. The door is now open. Do you see it?