Churches that love their model more than the mission will die

This is the passage tweeted by Bishop Mary on January 29, 2016. It is excerpted from an article called 10 predictions about the future Church and shifting attendance patterns. These predictions were offered by Carey Nieuwhof, a Christian Week columnist. The Bishop also Tweeted the following from the same article: "As the church reformats and repents, a more authentic, more selfless church will emerge."

Churches that love their model more than the mission will die

That said, many individual congregations and some entire denominations won’t make it. The difference will be between those who cling to the mission and those who cling to the model.

When the car was invented, it quick took over from the horse and buggy. Horse and buggy manufacturers were relegated to boutique status and many went under, but human transportation actually exploded. Suddenly average people could travel at a level they never could before.

The mission is travel. The model is a buggy, or car, or motorcycle, or jet.

Look at the changes in the publishing, music and even photography industry in the last few years.

See a trend? The mission is reading. It’s music. It’s photography. The model always shifts….moving from things like 8 tracks, cassettes and CDs to MP3s and now streaming audio and video. In the future, churches that love their model more than their mission will die. Click To Tweet

Companies that show innovation around the mission (Apple, Samsung) will always beat companies that remain devoted to the method (Kodak).

Churches need to stay focused on the mission (leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus) and be exceptionally innovative in our model.

To read the whole article click on the following link: Christian Week