Bad Church Sign of the Week: The Church Unchanged

This week’s church sign of the week speaks volumes culturally.  At the bottom of this sign, it reads:

“The church, unchanged for over 200 years, is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.”

While I imagine that this church is serving more as a museum than an actual meeting place from a church (or it may serve as both), this sign is intended to intrigue guests to marvel at the historic design of the building.

That’s great…for this church.  But for other churches, is this not the message that they are sending to their communities?  Churches exist who are not functioning as a museum or a historical monument, but they are just simply unwilling to change.

The reasons may vary, but the product is the same: changing people unwilling to join an unchanging church.

Before you write me off, the message is NEVER to change.  The gospel of Jesus Christ will never change.  The message remains, but the methods must change.  People are changing.  Our culture is changing.  While we cling to the immutable gospel and our immutable God, we must never stay stagnate in trying to reach our culture.

I am 27 years old.  I am of a younger (for now) generation.  But I am not one of those guys that thinks every church has to have drums, moving lights, home groups, screens, removal of suits, etc.  Every church is not wired to be the same model.  But every church is commanded to reach the surrounding areas.  Every church is called to the same mission of Jesus Christ: to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).

The thought-provoking question of the day is: Would your church be willing to make small changes in methodology if it meant that you could reach more lost people?