Hope for the Future
by Brian Ford, Executive Director
I appreciated my experiences at the Churchnet Spring Event at Parkade Baptist
Church in Columbia, Mo., in April 2017. Although I was honored and excited to be installed as the new Executive Director and play in my old worship band during the installation service, there were many other aspects of the event that gave me hope for the future of church as we help realize God’s kingdom in our own communities.
The meeting was focused primarily on two of our four initiatives: missional
collaboration and strategy development. These two broad areas that Churchnet focuses on to help empower the ministry of local churches are critical in my opinion. Think of all the churches you know in your circles. How many of them are stuck and need help thinking through being the church in 2017 and beyond? Two pieces of this puzzle involve what we’ve labeled as missional collaboration and strategy development.
I was pleased with the leadership and the content of the breakout sessions we offered. Not all of the leaders were direct members of our network, yet they are doing amazing work in their respective congregations that is collaborative and strategic. This work is both global and local and is helping their members to realize God’s kingdom here and now as they re-envision care for the elderly, offer hospitality to the stranger, advocate for justice in state and national policy, provide a non-anxious presence in thinking about God’s future for their
church, and invest
in first-time
pastors in ways
that help them
sustain a healthy
ministry for many
years to come.
Being a local
congregation in
tune with God’s
spirit and presence
in our world today
is more challenging
than ever before.
Too many churches
are stuck, depressed,