Why We Must Stop Imitating and Start Innovating to Reach New People
In a recent blog, Carey Nieuwhof challenged churches to innovate rather than imitate. Nieuwhof cites the reasons as misguided understanding of faithfulness, fear of criticism, and the prevalence of online information to imitate. Does any of this touch home for you?
Innovation has been a buzz word in congregational development and revitalization for quite some time. Yet, with the best of intentions, church leaders continue to recycle the same ideas of yesteryear and copy the ministries of other churches. And still only 3-5% of US churches are growing primarily through conversion growth (new believers).
How does a church really know if they are imitating or innovating? Afterall, change in the church is hard, so sometimes even imitation can feel like a gigantic change for churches! Here are some considerations to examine when trying to determine if what you’re doing or planning to do is imitation or innovation:
If other churches are doing the same ministry, it is not innovation. Craig Groeschel reminds us, “To reach people no one is reaching, you need to do things that no one is doing.”
Your church previously tried the ministry and it worked for a while. It grew ineffective and it was stopped. But because we are resurrection people, we decided to pull it out once again, dust it off, and give it the old college try. If it was no longer effective earlier, what makes one believe it will be a vital ministry today?
When the ministries and decisions of the church are influenced by the preferences of the existing people, the church is not innovating. This approach keeps people happy, but doesn’t promote innovation to reach new people. Fear and internal foci are driving missional decisions.
When the church has developed the “keeping up with the Jones” disease, the church is not innovating. Just because the church down the street or in the next county over is reaching new people with a new ministry, doesn’t mean it will work in your context or be the magic bullet.
Church leaders are notorious for being avid workshop attendees. Continuous learning is a good thing. However, too often, learning becomes more about everyone trying the latest fad ministry rather than understanding their own context and what will uniquely work for them.
With the majority of churches in decline or stagnation, scarcity has become rampant. Leaders are experiencing shrinking resources and can only see what they can no longer do that they once did. Scarcity often keeps churches from being bold and courageous to pursue innovation. We need to be reminded that our God is a God of abundance and not scarcity. Look at Jesus’s ministry. Jesus had a tremendous impact on the world without a church building, a gathered congregation, or weekly offering.
After reviewing the list above, is your church imitating or innovating? How will you begin to help others in the church understand the limitations of imitating? What is standing in the way of innovation? How will you remove those barriers to innovation and adopt a culture of innovation?
