Barna Group is a premier research company that has been involved in studying trends in the faith community for many years. They have been able to add the prior 20 years of research to the impact of our COVID journey to give us a powerful image of trends. Understand that data trends in your location may be different from the national snapshot. The important thing to remember is this is not a race for first place in returning to what we had pre-covid. We are attempting to understand trends over the long view of life and the possible outcomes of what we all have experienced.
Tony Morgan has contributed much to the national discussion on church trends as we move through this pandemic. The culmination of his research coupled with the Barna Group I want to give 7 trends that have emerged in the national dialogue about church direction into 2021.
•From Analogue To Digital – This trend is to move away from facility only church option. The digital age is upon us in full force, Most church attenders engage the digital world as part of their family routine for work and home. It is time for the church to offer a digital presence beside merely streaming a facility-based style service.
•From Teaching To Equipping – For so many years church presentations centered around a teaching lesson with a challenge to alter a life-style behavior. The need to EQUIP has grown large in recent months. Equipping is more about skill development than random lessons. The goal is to equip church attendees to become self-feeders. This allows the ability to thrive instead of just surviving. This moves people from becoming consumers of religious goods and services to qualified leaders that are fully capable of standing alone.
•From Gathering To Connection – This pandemic has awakened a strong need for connection that is more than just acquaintances. We are searching for meaningful relationships. We are searching for more than attending religious events.
•From Global To Local – Do not misinterpret this trend. It is not suggesting that global initiatives are no longer of importance. It is suggesting that local initiatives have taken on a stronger focus. Being quarantined has created a renewed sense of what is missing within the local community. It has also awakened the church to have an even greater voice within the community they exist. When life slows down for whatever reason we tend to see our local community and its needs more clearly.
•From Spending To Generosity – This is more about investing in equipping leaders versus the headcount of staff in each organization. It is reported that declining church’s have 35% more staff than is necessary. Instead adding salaries, invest in equipping others to be self-feeders.
•From Complexity To Simplicity – Busyness is not necessarily making you more like Jesus. The greater the complexity the more it reveals your decline as an organization. Agility is to be preferred!
•From Counting Attendance To Measuring Engagement – Measuring viewership is the incorrect metric. The correct metric is to make disciples. Leaders should be developing leaders. Engagement is more than viewership.
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