In this lesson,* we are going to be looking ahead into the future and trying to determine how our local congregation fits into it. My purpose is not to make any predictions or prophecies. Like Amos would say, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet” (Amos 7:14). Instead, the purpose for this lesson is to examine the direction we are going so we can plan, prepare, and adapt as best we can.

The future has always been uncertain, yet it seems as though there is even more uncertainty now than ever. There are a few reasons for this.

1. Post-pandemic – The COVID-19 pandemic was possibly the most significant disruption we will experience in our lifetimes.
2. Digital/virtual world – With the rise of the internet and social media, we are experiencing “the biggest communication shift in the last five hundred years.”
3. Increasingly godless society – This means that we have less common ground with those around us and more hostility toward those who claim to be Christians.

As we go through this lesson, we are going to break it up into three parts:

1. Conditions today – the current state of our society and the religious landscape in which we live
2. General principles – some things that will always be true about the future of the church
3. Specific issues – some specific things affecting the church today and will continue to do so in the future

So let us begin our consideration of this question: Where will your church be in twenty years?Continue Reading