The global evangelical church recognizes that the post-pandemic era has arrived. Various denominations, evangelical organizations, and local churches have been exploring topics such as the future of the church, the development of missions, discipleship strategies, the inheritance of faith, and the renewal of our mission. What does the future hold for the church? What goals should the church set today as it heads into the future?
Let us return to the gospel of the kingdom preached by the prophets, Jesus Christ, and his disciples. This message has critiqued and shaped the people of God. Over the centuries, the gospel has like a relentless tide washed away the self-imposed barriers of the church, sometimes dismantling ancient walls and sometimes bringing forth new forms, renewing the life of the church from within and perpetuating its gospel-centred mission.
When a church is shaped, guided, critiqued, and corrected by the gospel, what possibilities lie ahead of it? Allow me to propose five gospel-directed goals for the church today, by drawing from biblical theology, church history, modern thought, the post-postmodern millennial generation, and the digital technology tide.
1. A gospel for all: preaching the sovereign grace
The church should avoid the error of the doctrine of universal salvation, which claims that everyone will ultimately be saved. Nevertheless, the church should understand God¡¯s strong desire for all humanity to be saved (John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9)! His desire should be the driving force behind any gospel witness, both individual and communal, in evangelism, discipleship, and missions! May the Lord help us share his love for the world and be fervent to carry out his will.
2. Ethics of inclusion: transforming diverse identities
The church should defend the truth of the gospel but be wary of falling into political positions and ideologies. This includes avoiding cultural wars that may cause internal conflicts, disputes, and crises within the Christian community. May the gospel¡¯s critique and correction of the church be heeded. May churches provide opportunities for people of different identities and political stances to worship the triune God, hear God¡¯s word, accept Jesus Christ, and experience the power of the gospel!
3. The omnipresent church: synthesizing physical and virtual realities
The church should make the best use of digital platforms, recognizing that they will need both physical and virtual presences. These platforms should be used to complement, reinforce, and strengthen church life, pastoral care, and spiritual formation. Churches should invest human and financial resources to establish a pervasive, boundary-breaking, cross-national, cross-generational, and cross-cultural community of disciples!
4. The maturity of church gifts: utilizing artificial intelligence
The church needs to recognize that generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is already in use. Whether it is assisting with paperwork, drafting pictures, producing videos, handling music, learning languages, or other related functions, GAI tools are now commonly used by millennials. The church needs to cultivate biblical and spiritually guided wisdom that properly utilizes these technologies for church building, contributing to worship, teaching, evangelism, discipleship, and missions.
5. Interaction of ecology and spirituality: putting ecological theology into practice
The church must return to a Bible-based theology of creation and protect the natural environment. This involves a daily spiritual practice of treasuring God¡¯s creation. This is the direction of spiritual practice in the new millennium: a gospel life that emerges from the interaction and transformation of the spiritual with the ecological. This can be done by protecting natural resources, valuing living beings, and adopting simple lifestyles, and will provide our next generation with a liveable, sustainable, and flourishing world!
Conclusion
Looking to the future, we should recognize that only by returning to the gospel truth of the Bible can the church stand firm amid the challenges of the digital age. It is the gospel that has shaped the past, present, and future church, making us kingdom citizens who are in the world but not of the world.
Only a church oriented toward the gospel will have a future, because the gospel is not only a witness of history, but also a beacon for the church¡¯s ongoing journey. Amid deep unpredictability, if the church wants to keep to its course, it must firmly remain gospel-directed.
The Lord¡¯s disciples live in different countries and societies, face varying ideologies, and come from all walks of life. May we closely follow Christ, wisely use our God-given gifts, talents, wealth, power, and influence, and witness to God¡¯s sovereignty and the presence of his kingdom, right here and now!
