Imagine stepping into the year 2044 and discovering a church landscape transformed by technology and societal shifts. That's exactly what we're unpacking with my fellow chemistrystaffing.com co-founders, as we navigate through the possibilities of virtual congregations, revolutionary staffing models, and the intimate gatherings of home-based fellowships. We're not just prognosticating; we're strategizing with five key tactics to ensure that the core message of the gospel thrives amidst these changes. Get ready to challenge your notions of tradition and embrace a vision for future-proofing the church that is as faithful as it is fearless.
As we peer over the horizon at the church's future, we recognize that leadership must evolve to shepherd the flock in this new era. We're talking about setting aside ego and embracing the shifts that come with progress. Our dialogue is an invitation to think critically and plan strategically, so that the church not only survives but flourishes in the years to come. By investing in tomorrow's leaders and focusing on sustainable growth, we aim to inspire church leaders to adapt and excel, ensuring a vibrant, gospel-centered community for future generations. Share your insights with us as we collectively explore what lies ahead for the church of 2044.
Imagine stepping into the year 2044 and discovering a church landscape transformed by technology and societal shifts. That's exactly what we're unpacking with my fellow chemistrystaffing.com co-founders, as we navigate through the possibilities of virtual congregations, revolutionary staffing models, and the intimate gatherings of home-based fellowships. We're not just prognosticating; we're strategizing with five key tactics to ensure that the core message of the gospel thrives amidst these changes. Get ready to challenge your notions of tradition and embrace a vision for future-proofing the church that is as faithful as it is fearless.
As we peer over the horizon at the church's future, we recognize that leadership must evolve to shepherd the flock in this new era. We're talking about setting aside ego and embracing the shifts that come with progress. Our dialogue is an invitation to think critically and plan strategically, so that the church not only survives but flourishes in the years to come. By investing in tomorrow's leaders and focusing on sustainable growth, we aim to inspire church leaders to adapt and excel, ensuring a vibrant, gospel-centered community for future generations. Share your insights with us as we collectively explore what lies ahead for the church of 2044.
What will your church look like in 2044? That sounds like a long time away from now, but it's only 20 years. What will your church look like in 2044? That's crazy. Let's talk about it. Today. You're listening to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders here at chemistrystaffingcom. Thanks so much for joining us. What would your church look like in 2044? It's just 20 years from now and it was interesting.
Speaker 1:
As I was researching this, I looked up some predictions not about the church, but about what the world is going to be like in 20 years from now From some of the futurists I guess they call them people that look at what will be happening in the next 20 years. Here's some of the things that they think is going to happen in the next 20 years. The world's population will top 9 billion. People Deafness at any stage. People Deafness at any stage probably cured. Global internet traffic will grow to about 1,412 exabytes, that's, one exabyte equals a billion gigabytes. Criminals will be judged by artificial intelligence. And these futurists were talking before all the AI things came out in the past year and a half. 47% of today's jobs will probably not exist in 2044 due to AI and machine automation Remember Y2K. It all happens again or it doesn't in 2044. Some cities will establish some car-free policies and where there are cars, technology will practically eliminate traffic jams. 3d printing will revolutionize production and delivery of goods, and these are just a few of the things that I found for some of the futurists that they say is going to happen in the next 20 years, and it sounds like an interesting world, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:
But I want to ask you today what do you think the church, what do you think your church, is going to look like in 20 years? Where will you be in 20 years? I'm turning 60 this year. That's hard to believe, but I'll be 79 years old in 2044, which is crazy to me, but it's just 20 years away. How will the kids that are running around right now in your church's nursery be leading your church in 2024? And, quite frankly, much of that depends on us. In fact, pretty much all of it depends on us and how we prepare them. Any look at church history will show dramatic changes and shifts in the church, especially over our lifetime. I look at my last. It's been almost 40 years in ministry. It's crazy, but the amount of change I think that's happened in the last 40 years is just incredible. Just project that forward another 20 years. You can only expect the rate of change is going to increase in today's cultural climate.
Speaker 1:
I put on my thinking cap here and thought what might the church look like in 20 years, in 2044? Here's some what-ifs, because I am not a futurist. I don't know what tomorrow, I don't know what I'm having for lunch, so I'm maybe not the best person to speak on this, but I did put on my big boy thinking cap and tried to come up with what-ifs for the next 20 years. What if churches didn't hold services on Sundays? That seems like maybe that might not happen, but it might happen. We just went through a period where no churches in America literally just about no churches in America met on Sundays for a good number of months.
Speaker 1:
What if? Not because of any kind of disaster, but what if churches just didn't hold services on Sundays? What if churches didn't hold services in big rooms? What if churches didn't hold services at all? What if churches didn't have buildings? What if churches did everything virtually? What if churches met in homes and small groups exclusively? What if churches determined that they didn't need the current staffing models?
Speaker 1:
As a co-founder of a church staffing firm, I'm constantly looking at trends and hiring trends and I'm convinced in 20 years, staffing your church is going to be entirely different than what it is right now. What if churches joined together and branded themselves kind of like Starbucks? What if the music you enjoy now is considered out of style? Here's a little hint the music that you like now will be out of style in 20 years for sure. What if sermons are only 10 minutes long? What if sermons didn't exist? What if services were available on demand? And what if they were delivered by artificial intelligence? What if you just went to your computer and said, hey, I'm feeling a little depressed today. Show me a worship service that will help me with my depression, based around worship songs and scripture references that speak to depression and what God can help me with. That's quickly becoming a possibility. What if regular attendees came just once a month? What if your congregation is made up of 20% LGBT community?
Speaker 1:
Did you ever think about what significant changes like this would mean for your church and will your church be able to adopt and change? Adopt these changes and change into the future? And yet and this is important to stay faithful to the gospel. How do you do that? I've got five things that I want to leave you with today as you think about the future. It may be good to write these down. You can get them on the podcast website as well.
Speaker 1:
Number one always be aware of what's coming. For example, facebook use among teenagers is down 20% in 20 years and that's huge. Many of us are acting like Facebook will be around forever, but a better play might be right now to start experimenting with where the young people are going. They're going to YouTube, instagram and new ones that I don't even know about. So always be aware of what's coming. Number two don't worry about the change. Don't fret about it. Change is going to happen, whether we like it or not, and it's and it's not really something to worry about. That doesn't mean that you have to embrace every shift, but it does mean you have to navigate and you need to be able to lead through it. So don't worry about it. But number three don't ignore it. Our country is actually full of churches, in just about literally every town, that have ignored cultural changes for decades, and what many of them are dying and probably won't make it to 2044. Your church may not either, if you don't learn from some of their mistakes. So that's number three.
Speaker 1:
Number four take time to build into the next generation, those little rugrats that are running around your nursery right now. Those are the future of the church. Give them great theological training. Give them opportunities to serve. Get them excited about the future of the church. I don't think very many churches do that. I don't think we disciple. I don't think many churches give great theological trainings. I don't think many churches give opportunities to serve to young people. Be the exception of the rule here and build into the next generation.
Speaker 1:
And then number five, and this might be the hardest part of all put your pride aside. You won't personally like some of the things that are going to happen in the future and some of the things that the future holds for your church, but if you keep your leadership tightly to those things you prefer, and only those things you prefer, you're going to become obsolete. So here's my admonition, here's my bottom line for you today it's not too early to start planning. 2044 will be here before we know it, whether you're here to see it in or not. So always be aware of what's coming. Don't worry about it, but don't ignore it. Build into that next generation and put aside your pride and lead through the change and if we do this, hopefully we'll have a healthy local church and Big C church when it comes to 2044. I'd love to hear your feedback on today's podcast. You can reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. Hope you'll join us here again tomorrow for another edition of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.