What Does Tomorrow's Church Look Like: Returning for Renewal

Foundations

First of all, let's look at Biblical foundations for the church. This answers "Who are we?" Which is the essential starting point for beginning to consider "What are we to do?" and "Where are we heading?"

We are:

Founded on Jesus Christ
The Church belongs to and is built on Jesus as Lord and Messiah (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11). He is the head; the Church is His body (Ephesians 1:22–23).

A Spirit-formed people
The Church is created and sustained by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 12:13). It is not a human association but a Spirit-birthed community.

The Body of Christ
Believers are members of one body, interdependent and gifted for the good of all (Romans 12:4–5; 1 Corinthians 12). Unity and diversity belong together.

The People of the New Covenant
The Church is the continuation and fulfilment of God’s covenant people (1 Peter 2:9–10), grafted into the promises to Israel (Romans 11).

Devoted to Word, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread, and Prayer
The early Church’s shared life included teaching, communion, shared meals, generosity and prayer (Acts 2:42–47).

A Worshipping Community
The Church gathers to praise God, confess Christ, and proclaim His greatness (Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 10:25).

A Holy and Distinct People
Called to reflect God’s character in the world (Ephesians 5:25–27; 1 Peter 1:15–16).

A Missional People
The Church participates in God’s mission — making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18–20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8).

A Community of Love and Unity
Jesus prayed for visible unity among His followers (John 17:20–23). Love for one another is central to its witness (John 13:34–35).

Gifted with Leadership
Scripture recognises elders, overseers, deacons and equipping ministries (Ephesians 4:11–13; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1), not to control but to build up the saints for works of service.

A Foretaste of the New Creation
The Church is a sign and preview of God’s coming renewal of all things (2 Corinthians 5:17–20; Revelation 21–22). It lives now under the lordship of the risen Christ, anticipating His return.

Additionally, the church:

• Regularly gathers to share in the Lord’s Supper

• Baptises new believers into the community

• Follows regular rhythms of gathering

• Appoints spiritual leadership

• Uses creeds as reminders of core beliefs

• Commits to generosity and care for the poor

It may be easy to nod in agreement but let’s consider how these are outworked in context. These can be empty words without applying these to how we function as church today.

Some sharper ways of expressing some of the above:

Church is the people of God, not a Sunday event. It exists wherever believers live, gather, pray, serve and share life together.

Church is relational before it is structural — centred on unity, love, conversation, accountability and shared life.

Church is discipleship in everyday rhythms — at home, work, cafés, neighbourhoods. If we only disciple “at church” it is like training only in the gym. We will have difficulty applying our training in everyday life. We need to show and practise what it means to follow Jesus practically in the context of everyday situations.

Church is mission-shaped — every believer involved in visibly living and sharing the gospel in their context.

Church is Spirit-led and prayer-dependent — relying on the Holy Spirit rather than programs or personalities.

Church gathers intentionally, but the gathering equips and celebrates what is happening throughout the week; it is not the only expression.

Where we may see church drift from it’s identity

Reduction to events/programs

The Church is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12) and a Spirit-formed people (Acts 2). We have to be careful of modern language equating church with attending a Sunday gathering, eg. “Going to church.”

Hebrews 10:25 affirms gathering, but the early church’s life was also distributed across homes and daily rhythms (Acts 2:46).

When “going to church” becomes the primary definition, everyday discipleship, mission and shared life shrink to optional extras.

Ministry by a Few Rather Than the Whole Body

Ephesians 4:11–13 describes leaders as equippers, not primary performers.

In practice, the sermon and service model can position clergy as the main spiritual actors while others consume. Passive spectatorship can replace Spirit-distributed participation.

Information Without Formation

Sermons are valuable and biblical (Acts 2:42), but weekly listening can become the dominant form of discipleship.

The New Testament vision includes apprenticeship, obedience, shared life and imitation (Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 11:1).

Danger: Learning about Jesus replaces learning to live like Jesus.

Shallow Fellowship

Morning tea and home groups provide connection, but not always to the extent of biblical fellowship (koinonia) involved shared meals, resources, prayer and deep mutual responsibility (Acts 2:44–47).

Outsourcing Mission

Does everyone see themselves as an important part of a people sent into the world? Or have we become content to support the work of a few?

Structures Embedded So Deeply They Feel Sacred

Over centuries, particular formats (rows facing a preacher, programs, the format of services) have become culturally fixed.

Yet Scripture gives little detail about meeting formats, focusing instead on character, unity and love (John 17; 1 Corinthians 13–14).

Are there traditions have become a hinderance rather than a help?

Attendance or Transformation

The New Testament emphasises maturity in Christ (Colossians 1:28), unity, holiness and fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).

What measurements are most important to us?

Fragmenting by Age and Gender

Men’s events, women’s events and age-based ministries can serve important purposes, but we must keep the biblical image of one body central (1 Corinthians 12) .

How do we emphasise multi-generational family in our activities?

Predictable Programs Can Mask Our Ongoing Dependence on the Spirit

The early church was marked by prayerful responsiveness to the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2; Acts 16:6–10).

How can we keep the expectation alive that God will interrupt and redirect us?

How can we keep stability while being open to what God might have us do?

Looking to the Future

How do we maintain traditions that keep us moving towards God and His Kingdom, while being willing to let go of good things that have become too central and may be holding us back or keeping us too safe?

• The role of the Sunday service — look for ways to equip people, share stories and to encourage people in their witness and discipleship journey throughout the week.

• Encouraging participation — look for ways to activate the diverse gifts of everyone.

• Emphasising relationships over programs — look for ways to create spaces for accountability, honest sharing and discipling relationships.

• Hold structures lightly — be willing to let programs have their season without defaulting to them. Ask the Holy Spirit what he wants to do next.

• Discipleship in the everyday — encourage people to see opportunities at work, home and community for mission and discipleship. Share stories and examples of what God is doing.

• Dependence on the Holy Spirit — be led by prayer, discernment and obedience more than strategy or copying what is working elsewhere. Discern what God is calling our specific community to be and do.

Note: Be careful to avoid overcorrection or misdirection

Reimagining the church is not abandoning leadership or a central gathering. It's not about becoming anti-institutional or chasing the latest trends being celebrated elsewhere.

We can observe throughout recent history that trends come and go in the church world without real impact in of themselves.

We are not chasing something new but something durable.

Change therefore, must not be about new ideas but the recovery of what has gone missing.

That is renewal. Recovering Bible principles that have been lost.

For example:

Recovering the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9)

Emphasising everyday discipleship (Matthew 28:20)

Re-centering mission (John 20:21)

Rediscovering dependence on the Holy Spirit (Acts)

Prioritising relational depth (John 13:35)

It is about returning to what has been lost and letting go of layers of “great ideas” from the past that have served their purpose but have now become too central and ingrained.

To wrap it up, rather than swinging to extremes on one side, we should aim to hold in tension being:

Gathered and scattered

Structured and Spirit-responsive

Stable and adaptable

Grounded in history and being ready for a new thing

Bringing our best and being real

Move forward with love

I have an innovative mind, and I am trying to be faithful to what God is showing me and how he has gifted me. Motivation is so important in anything we do, so anything we do, should be done from a place of love and with love towards those you lead.

As such, it would be unwise to aim to bring a local church into line with what could be seen as a radical departure from what they're used to, even if it is a return to Biblical Christianity. Jesus shepherds us firmly, but also gently.

Practically, a few tips in moving forward:

• Trial changes with a small group of "first adopter" types

• Work with a team providing different gifts and perspectives

• Ask God not just what to do, but how to go about it

Would you pray with me: what is the next step the Holy Spirit would have us take?

If you've got this far, we might have something in common worth discussing! Please consider emailing me, tom@haventogether.com