What will your church do differently in 2020?

As I've written here many times before I love the start of a new year. When January 1st rolls around I feel like I have a brand new, clean sheet to work with. As a pastor I always loved planning for the new year and thinking about the possibilities that were available.

It's so easy for a church to fall into ruts in its thinking and ministries. One year just flows into the next, and nothing ever changes. We keep doing the same things, getting the same results, and complaining that nothing is improving. Why not spend some time leading up to the new year thinking about what could be done differently that might produce different results? Let me offer some suggestions to consider.

• What will your church do in 2020 to improve its evangelistic outreach? If we believe the Bible as many of us claim, people without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are lost. The Great Commission tells the church that we are to go into all the world and share the good news about Christ and encourage people to trust in Him. How many people did your church see trust Christ for their salvation in 2019? Are you satisfied with that number? If not, what are you going to do intentionally to change that in 2020?
• The second part of the Great Commission has to do with discipling those who come to faith in Christ. How effective is the disciple-making ministries in your church? How many of your people are involved in Sunday school classes or small groups? How many people showed spiritual growth in the past year? Does your church need to improve this aspect of its ministry, and if so, how will you do that?
• What can your church do to strengthen families in 2020? So many families are struggling with problems related to addictions, finances, single-parent homes, abuse, and a host of other issues. I see no organization other than the church and para-church groups offering to help families address these challenges. Because many of these problems have a spiritual element to them, I don't believe any other organization can help families overcome these problems. Every church needs to have some ministries that specifically address family issues if we want to see families remain healthy. Does your church have such ministries?
• How will your church deal with justice issues in your community? There is so much injustice in our world today it can seem to be overwhelming. Everywhere we look we see poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism, ageism, crime, violence and the list goes on. Government cannot solve these problems. They can pass laws, and they have, but these laws do nothing to change human hearts, and injustice occurs when people's hearts are hardened to the point that they don't care about the fate of other people. The church must address these issues by not only talking about them but also by doing something to effect change. I ask the question again, what will your church do in 2020 to address the injustices that exist in your community?

This should be enough for your church leaders to think about between now and the start of the new year. If your church does nothing new in 2020 your church will look a lot like it does now when 2020 ends. But, if you are willing to dream and pray I believe God will show you some new things that will make the new year an exciting time of ministry and growth for your church.