How to Lead a Future-Focused, Thriving Church
For a church to thrive, its leadership must be grounded in the present but also committed to preparing for the future. Future-focused leadership is essential to guiding a congregation toward spiritual growth, health and community impact.
“Future-focused” is one of 15 dimensions that make up a Barna framework for measuring the degree to which churches are thriving. The 15 dimensions of Thriving Churches are rooted in key signs of a ministry’s priorities and effectiveness. To be a thriving church is to be on a journey toward health and success. (See how your church rates on all of the Thriving Church dimensions with Barna’s ChurchPulse, available for free in Barna Access.)
According to The State of Your Church, a study led by Barna in partnership with Gloo, three in five leaders (61% of churched adults who identify as leaders in their church) are confident that their church is on a future-focused path. However, this also means there is ample room for more churches to embrace forward-looking leadership.