Change falls hard on religious institutions and its members because we care intensely and deeply for what our churches have provided to us in the past. Theological conviction and foundation, laid over decades of participation, willing or unwilling, shape and mold us still. While much of religion has grown beyond its infancy, we can still look to the past as inspiration to continue moving forward. Believing religion to be static and unchanging has done more for its decline than almost any other factor. The old church remains but it suddenly finds itself in the midst of opportunity, a renaissance of sorts intending to reframe as to purpose and value.

Many churches emerging from the pandemic welcomed the opportunity for a fresh start but ended up returning to comfortable traditional church models. Many longed for a simpler past with an “If you build it, they will come” mentality headlined by updated facilities, broader programming, and black and white servility. What was less understood was the fact that the institutional church was already poised on the brink of irrevocable change long before the pandemic factored in. COVID merely found a scapegoat rental home.

How does the future church manifest itself in this new reality? How will we recognize when it has arrived? We don’t have to concern ourselves so much with the when as we do in how to answer the call that is already upon us. Future church has always been present, integral to the faith in various ways and dependent on the theological bend of each institution, be it independent or denominationally mainstream.

A hard look at the numbers is a necessary start, the worst element for many to consider. Do not depend on single sources alone, but on a larger view of the landscape. Percentages of decline in churches, both numerically and in regard to the spiritual malaise so many are encountering, mirror one another no matter the size of a congregation or its affiliation. What was in the past will not magically turn things around, but it is helpful to know where we have been.

It is easy to blame current culture for the demise of the church. Some have suggested that merely returning to our Sunday morning worship roots is the answer. Others declare the church to be the problem. The answer lies somewhere in between. The church’s penchant for scapegoating is legendary. When things are wonderful and exciting, we declare that God is on our side and that we must be doing something right. Is it a God thing or is it our way of self-congratulation? Is it a God thing for us to live in privileged comfort while a majority of the world is embroiled in strife? Is it a God thing when domestic violence and abuse is rampant in our homes? Are we okay with somehow creating a god in our own image rather than the other way around?

In the meantime, the generational disconnect continues to widen within and outside the church. Does it represent failure or opportunity? One thing is certain, we are not alone in hoping for something better, a renaissance long overdue.