1. Technology. Nothing has changed in our entire culture more than technology. Fifteen years ago when I became Pastor we were recording on cassette tapes and we were not antiquated. We quickly moved to recording on CD’s but now we don’t even do that anymore. Most of my job is done via a computer or my phone. The way we order supplies, schedule appointments, prepare church documents, run board meetings, track church financials, etc. Everything has changed.
2. Travel. When I became Pastor of the little Baptist Church in Dillsburg, PA fifteen years ago, we had an average attendance of 35 people per week. Almost every single one had a Dillsburg address. Today we average around 160 and I believe less than 35 of those have a Dillsburg address. People travel to church. We equally pull from 3 counties. Many of our people drive 25-30 minutes to church.
3. Schedules. Our schedules have changed in so many ways. People are working varied schedules. So many of our folks work every other weekend. Our children have such busy schedules today and it makes it difficult to have youth events. We have a hard time getting people to come to special services during the week because they are too busy.
4. Lack of basic knowledge. The overall level of Bible knowledge of the people sitting in my congregation is lower now than it was 15 years ago. Gone are the days when people in my church were in Christian school, had been Bible teachers for years, or were grounded in the Word. We have to teach from a different starting point.
5. Safety/Security. Probably the most discussed area of change among all churches is safety. We look at everything now from a security perspective. Locking doors, implementing procedures, buying security cameras, training, insurance, etc. Safety and security is and will continue to be evolving in our churches.
- Here are 5 things I predict will change over the next 15 years.
- Online engagement. I believe our engagement with our congregation will only grow online. Some churches will already tell you that their online church is larger and has a greater influence than their brick and mortar church body.
- The Sunday evening service will be gone. We are an old fashioned, traditional church. The Sunday evening service is gone at most churches already – it will not survive.
- Less commitment to tithing. Today’s church member views tithing the same as any contribution to a Non profit organization. They put value in donating to the Red Cross in emergencies, to the Little League team, to their neighbor’s ill child, etc. It is all the same to them.
- No bulletins, hymnals, offering envelopes, etc. Again, at many churches these are already gone – but things like offering envelopes and weekly bulletins will be replaced by technology. This won’t take 15 more years. This will be in the next couple. Perhaps at your church this is already a done deal.
- Missions. Raising 65k or more annually to send a couple to the mission field who ends up leaving after a couple of years is unsustainable. Especially since most of the mission field is now moving to our towns.
Leave a Reply