Designed for More

In the heart of the pandemic, through author and church leader Will Mancini’s book Future Church, I was given words to articulate what I and many other pastors have been working on for a good part of a decade.

A little context…

Throughout the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s, many churches that experienced growth became places where people could attend worship, connect in groups, and serve. Throughout those four decades, many of the larger churches today (including ours) experienced exponential growth—at least when church “success” was measured by dollars and worshippers. The key question for many people was, “Where are we going to church this Sunday?”

After the economic downturn of 2009, life began changing. Dollars decreased. Jobs were eliminated. Skepticism around organized everything multiplied. High-level leadership became “sus” as many leaders and companies went belly up or flamed out.

I specifically remember working with young adults at the time who were jaded by the promise of careers only to graduate college with a mortgage payment for their student loans and few job opportunities in their field of study.

The winds of change were blowing, and the Church’s work of attending worship, connecting in groups, and serving shifted. It didn’t go away, but it proved to be an experience of diminished returns. Churches began declining. Volunteer teams gave way to paid staff. And the cultural questions, “Is there more?” and “Why am I here?” were amplified.

Today…

Many more people are asking, “Is there more?” and “What’s my purpose/calling?” than “Where are we going to church this Sunday?”. If you look at the Amazon book lists or peruse the shelves at Barnes and Noble, you see (and hear) authors who echo our world asking these core questions about who we are.

It’s not bad or wrong… just different. And, who better to respond than the One who created all people (collectively) for a purpose and has given each person (individually) a unique calling to live out that purpose throughout their lives.

In Future Church, Will Mancini introduces the concept that “attend, connect, serve” is not wrong or bad… it’s good (and still works for some!), just not as many as it used to. As a result, it’s not complete.

Will articulates that the Church has everything it needs to complement worship, life groups, and serving, including everything it needs to help people discover their calling, be equipped to live that calling and be sent to live that calling outside the Church.

In Matthew 22, Jesus gives us a collective purpose when He says to love God with our entire lives and love and serve our neighbor as ourselves. Now, we get to observe, reflect, and discuss what that looks like (our individual callings) where we live, work, learn, and play.

That is what DESIGN is all about. It’s not replacing gathering for worship, connecting in your life group, or serving on a team… it’s amplifying how we love God, love people, and live like Jesus the other 167 hours a week.

For some of us, this is an epiphany (the light bulb just came on). For others, it’s not “new” because you’ve been thinking and living this way for a while.

Regardless, I pray that these next weeks together will be transformational for your faith and life.

Starting next week, I will upload a 15-minute podcast to this blog that shares inspiring stories of how people are discovering God’s Design and living out their callings—and by doing so, seeing generations of people transformed by the gospel not only at church but also where they live, work, learn, and play.

If you would like to share how you discovered God’s Design and are living out your calling, send me an email, and I’d love to talk about you being a guest on a future podcast.

Next week, we hear from Halle Gass, a creative young adult and MK (missionary kid). I can’t wait.​

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