That Other Church On Your Campus

Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

How much change should we expect from any one church? That’s a question we wrestle with frequently.

Here is the challenge – most churches are some version of the twentieth century church paradigm. Most churches are comprised of people who cherish their way of being church, having been formed as disciples through numerous meaningful and rich experiences. Were we to significantly change their paradigm, they would lose the richness and spiritual significance of being church.

Even so, twenty-first century people have voted with their feet, largely abandoning or avoiding the twentieth century church paradigm. The numbers don’t lie, painting a picture of decline in church participation over the last 35 years in America. At first, presenters, authors, trainers, and consultants encouraged churches to improve their quality, believing that if we build it well, they will come. Over time, it became clear this approach doesn’t bridge the gap to engage people without strong church backgrounds. They might be glad your church functions in quality ways, but they simply aren’t interested in well organized and smoothly functioning churches.

So what are we to do when the current participants value a paradigm which does not resonate with potential participants? I remember attending a church renewal conference with one consultant whose approach was to run off the current members, since it’s clear they don’t know how to grow a church anyway. Besides the unethical nature of this approach, it also denies the meaning and significance the current participants find in their expression of church. Traditional expressions of church can change… within a certain range.

Here’s where I find myself at this point. It seems that every church has a range within it can transform while continuing its identify and paradigm. Pushed too far… and it loses its integrity… no longer being itself. Given this, there are some people in the community who will resonate with this kind of church, finding it helps open the door to God. At the same time, there are many others who do not resonate with this expression of church. When we accept this reality, we grow open to new possibilities.

Many of these twentieth century expressions of church have exceptional church campuses in prime locations. Perhaps it’s time for more churches to see themselves as incubators of worshiping communities. How about hosting a dinner church? Or a biker church? Or…any number of alternative or divergent types of churches who will likely connect with people who traditional churches will never reach? What would it be like for your church facility to house 3 or 4 very different expressions of church?

Rather than pushing and pulling traditional expressions of church into becoming someone they are not, perhaps they can expand their vision for hospitality, welcoming those who they are not. May we move forward with faith, hope, love… and courage into God’s future for God’s Church.