Work Today for Success Tomorrow
As a pastor, leader, or active church member, you want to see your local church filled with the smiling faces of all generations. However, the reality for many small to mid-size churches is a struggle to get regular attendees to visit more than twice a month, let alone attract new guests. Embracing the mindset of working today for success tomorrow helps lay a patient, sustainable foundation for growth.
A quick search of any major marketing site reveals countless books, articles, and podcasts dedicated to turning around the local church. Each author, myself included, writes from the perspective of their unique local context. This work should not be viewed as a silver bullet, but as a long-term view of how micro-steps can begin to transform a congregation.
As a leader, you must understand that the seeds you plant in a person’s life today will bear fruit in God’s timing. When you focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term fluctuations, you capture the imagination of what is possible. It is important to note that success in this context is not measured by business metrics, but by lives impacted and changed through the Word of God.
Focus on long-term solutions.
When you find yourself in a struggling church, it’s natural to feel the urge to make quick changes, point fingers, and avoid personal responsibility. However, instead of casting blame, let’s focus on what we can control, with God’s power working through us. It may seem counterintuitive to think about long-term solutions when the church is facing spiritual, membership and financial challenges. But it’s in these moments, when we come together and unite our efforts, that God can truly begin to help the church rebound.
Imagine you’re a church with no children attending. It might seem futile to invest in a children’s program, decorate a room, put on a fresh coat of paint, replace the carpet, purchase supplies, and secure a teacher. But with a long-term focus, you’re not just preparing for the future, you’re setting the stage for God to show up and bless the church as the people pray.
Many churches and their leaders forget that God wants us to partner with him, serving our part in the grander service to the church and community. So, instead of waiting on God, why not partner with him through prayer, direction and obedience to the call he has placed on the local church? Do not be a church that waits for blessings, but one that actively seeks to bless our communities in obedience to God’s calling daily.
Let me give you five key suggestions for long-term planning that have helped other churches.
1. Pray and Ask. Seek God’s face through corporate prayers of forgiveness, wisdom, and discernment about the church’s current and future plans.
2. Go and Find. Find areas where God draws the church into the community or community groups who want to partner with the church through the use of space agreements on the church campus.
3. Obey and Do. Following God’s will by designing programs and partnerships that challenge the people to leave the pew and serve others.
4. Be and Act. The world is challenging followers to serve in darkness. Who will be light in the dark and shine the goodness (God) into the community.
5. Bless and Maintain. Serve with an eye toward a long-term commitment to adapt and change but keeping Christ at the center of service in and out of the church. Everything the church does is to see lives changed.
These keys are ideals to strive toward. They should be used as a benchmark to establish new work, by seeking innovative ways to leverage church resources, like empty spaces and adapt them for community use. Think about serving as Christ by working with partners or people who may not share the church’s values. It’s a tall order, but it’s one that God has challenged the church to fulfill.
Capture the imagination of what is to come.
When I serve alongside churches and leaders navigating a challenging season, I am reminded of the crucial role the local leader plays. As we walk the space in person or through zoom, I begin to listen to the echoes of the past. Understanding that God is preparing a new thing to emerge if the local church will trust him. The notion that everything must remain unchanged is diminished when the pastor and lay leaders entrust the future of the church to God and begin to envision what it could become.
As a leader guiding the church out of decline, you must skillfully balance the present with future needs. Let me provide you with three strategies to ignite the imagination of what lies ahead.
1. Develop a strategic plan. Envisioning the future of the church is not enough. You need to develop a strategic plan to turn that vision into reality. Think about where you want the church to be in six months, one year, three years, and five years from now. Then, develop a step-by-step plan to do the ‘big’ and ‘small’ things to get there. This will take visionary leadership and tenacity not to give up when things get complicated.
2. Keep your focus on God’s vision for the local church. Let his vision guide and inspire you to move the church forward. Share what God has shown you during your prayer time with others through sermons, personal conversations, and teachings so that they too catch the vision.
3. You are not a lone ranger Christian. It will take a team to overcome the obstacles that the church faces today. Remember, as a leader, you are not alone in this journey. You have a team of dedicated prayer warriors who are ready to support you, endorse your efforts, speak positively in public, and encourage you personally. But you have to ask for support and help. The support of these pew-leaders is crucial in honoring the call and keeping the focus on Jesus and others while supporting the efforts.
These steps will not only help achieve the new focus but also will provide the motivation to keep pressing forward during the process if you are willing to rethink the way church has been. God has an amazing plan for your church and ministry. So, ask yourself: Will I do the work today for success tomorrow, or wait on someone else to obey God’s call?
