Imitating or Innovating

Why We Must Stop Imitating and Start Innovating to Reach New People

October 15, 20243 min read

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?


Kay’s purpose is to Equip and Empower Leaders of Faith Communities How to Engage in More Effective Ministry.
Kay Kotan is the founder of You Unlimited (coaching, consulting and training company) and The Greatest Expedition – a collaboration of more than twenty thought leaders providing resources and insights for a congregational journey to develop new MAPS (ministry action plans) to reach new people in your community.  Kay also launched Multipliers’ Movement – a gathering of kingdom multipliers for sharing, equipping, and encouraging.
She is a CoachU and Advanced CoachU Graduate, an accredited coach (PCC: Professional Certified Coach) with the ICF, International Coaching Federation, a Certified Path 1 Coach, and once served on the faculty at Coaching4Clergy.  As a passionate lay person, she has a banking background and has been a business owner for more than 25 years.  Kotan has served as a church developer for conferences and worked with churches, pastors, conferences, and judicatory leaders across the country for more than a decade.  She is most proud to be the wife of Bob for over 30 years and the mother of their adult son, Cameron.
Kay is the author of multiple books, workbooks, and resources including Gear Up:  Nine Essential Processes for the Optimized Church, Cry From the Pew, Full Schedules, Barren Souls, Being the Church in the Post Pandemic World, and Journey Preparation: Surveying Your Church’s Landscape,  as well as the co-author of the books titled:  IMPACT!:  Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry, Small Church Check-Up, Insights on Productivity, Renovate or Die – Ten Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission, Ministry 3.0 and Get Their Name , Ten Prescriptions for a Healthy Church, Necessary Nine – Nine Things Effective Pastors Do Differently, Launching Leaders:  Taking Leadership Development to New Heights, Strategy Matters:  Your Roadmap to Planning a Strategic Ministry Planning Retreat, Voices of Christmas: A Daily Devotional for Advent and Expanding the Expedition Reach Through Marketplace Multipliers. Mission Possible for the Small Church. Inside Out: Everting Ministry Models for the Postmodern Church, and more. Kotan and her co-author Bradford published their third version of the best-seller, Mission Possible:  Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness.  

Mrs. Kotan spends her time investing in pastors, laity leaders, congregations, and judicatory leaders through equipping, coaching, and creating resources to help them discover and live into their fullest missional potential of effectiveness and fruitfulness to reach people for Jesus Christ.  Through her enthusiasm, truth-telling, and passion, she challenges those who encounter her in both their thinking and their doing.

Kay Kotan

Kay’s purpose is to Equip and Empower Leaders of Faith Communities How to Engage in More Effective Ministry. Kay Kotan is the founder of You Unlimited (coaching, consulting and training company) and The Greatest Expedition – a collaboration of more than twenty thought leaders providing resources and insights for a congregational journey to develop new MAPS (ministry action plans) to reach new people in your community.  Kay also launched Multipliers’ Movement – a gathering of kingdom multipliers for sharing, equipping, and encouraging. She is a CoachU and Advanced CoachU Graduate, an accredited coach (PCC: Professional Certified Coach) with the ICF, International Coaching Federation, a Certified Path 1 Coach, and once served on the faculty at Coaching4Clergy. As a passionate lay person, she has a banking background and has been a business owner for more than 25 years. Kotan has served as a church developer for conferences and worked with churches, pastors, conferences, and judicatory leaders across the country for more than a decade. She is most proud to be the wife of Bob for over 30 years and the mother of their adult son, Cameron. Kay is the author of multiple books, workbooks, and resources including Gear Up: Nine Essential Processes for the Optimized Church, Cry From the Pew, Full Schedules, Barren Souls, Being the Church in the Post Pandemic World, and Journey Preparation: Surveying Your Church’s Landscape, as well as the co-author of the books titled: IMPACT!: Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry, Small Church Check-Up, Insights on Productivity, Renovate or Die – Ten Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission, Ministry 3.0 and Get Their Name , Ten Prescriptions for a Healthy Church, Necessary Nine – Nine Things Effective Pastors Do Differently, Launching Leaders: Taking Leadership Development to New Heights, Strategy Matters: Your Roadmap to Planning a Strategic Ministry Planning Retreat, Voices of Christmas: A Daily Devotional for Advent and Expanding the Expedition Reach Through Marketplace Multipliers. Mission Possible for the Small Church. Inside Out: Everting Ministry Models for the Postmodern Church, and more. Kotan and her co-author Bradford published their third version of the best-seller, Mission Possible: Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness. Mrs. Kotan spends her time investing in pastors, laity leaders, congregations, and judicatory leaders through equipping, coaching, and creating resources to help them discover and live into their fullest missional potential of effectiveness and fruitfulness to reach people for Jesus Christ. Through her enthusiasm, truth-telling, and passion, she challenges those who encounter her in both their thinking and their doing.

Back to Blog