Becoming a Future-Ready Church

“Will the young people in your church, when given the reins at the proper time, want and be able to lead what you’re passing on to them?”[1]

This provocative question serves as the foundation for Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders. As a millennial who is both a local church member and part of the Siburt Institute team, the question immediately resonated with me and drew me into the book. Just in the past two weeks, I have had conversations with a church leadership team, a college student, and even my grandfather—all centered around what the future of the church might look like as younger generations begin stepping into leadership roles. Wherever your church finds itself on this journey, it’s worth pausing to remember: the next generation is not just the future of your congregation, but the future leaders of your ministries, your elder group, and more.

Missiologist Daniel Yang, religion journalist Adelle Banks, and church researcher Warren Bird co-authored Becoming a Future-Ready Church to address a critical opportunity for many congregations today: actively involving the next generation in ongoing conversations that will help prepare for the future. The authors emphasize that the generational handoff is about far more than replacing one leader with another. It is about intentionally passing down vision, structure, culture, and tools in ways that make sense for the future generation. They present eight essential conversations that churches must begin now in order to communicate the timeless gospel to a culture whose values, needs, and thinking patterns are rapidly evolving.[2] Their goal is to guide churches in making this transition by offering a hopeful, forward-looking vision that begins by asking better questions.

Here are just a few of the questions they raise:

• How can your church help people build healthy spiritual relationships that extend beyond membership and attendance into the complexity of their daily lives?

• How can family ministries equip individuals to serve and connect with those outside the traditional “nuclear family” model, such as single adults, single parents, or childless couples?

• Rather than simply being a “big family church” that attracts people who look and live like you, how can your congregation cultivate radical hospitality and embrace growing diversity?

• Beyond traditional markers like attendance, budget, and facilities, what new models and metrics might reflect the long-term fruit of God's kingdom at work?

Yang, Banks, and Bird remind us that each generation inherits more than just faith and Scripture—they also inherit the structures, habits, and expectations of church life.[3] So the question becomes: How will these be passed on?

One of the greatest responsibilities of today’s church leaders is to intentionally create space for emerging leaders: to empower them, trust them, and walk alongside them as you all lean into the church’s future together. Today’s leaders would be unwise to move forward without tomorrow’s leaders at the table. The next generation does not just need to listen to today’s leaders, they need to speak, lead, and co-labor with you in shaping the future of the church. Yang, Banks, and Bird offer suggestions for approaching this important work through incremental adjustments to prepare future generations of leaders.

• Start the conversation now about what future leadership looks like, do not wait for current leaders to retire before preparing the next generation.

• Assess whether your church’s current structures and practices are equipping emerging leaders, or unintentionally creating barriers to their growth and involvement.

• Invite younger leaders into meaningful leadership roles, not just support or shadowing positions. Give them space to participate in decision-making, lead projects, receive mentorship, and contribute to shaping the church’s vision.

• Create a culture where younger leaders are trusted to lead, make mistakes, grow, and contribute, not one where they must first meet outdated expectations before being given opportunities.

By empowering and encouraging rising generations of leaders, you have the opportunity to faithfully steward the responsibility of those whom God has entrusted to your care. This idea echoes a reflection I shared in an article back in June, drawing on Scott Cormode’s question: “Who has God entrusted to my care?” Cormode emphasizes that the first step of leadership is listening, and that listening often begins by asking questions.

Imagine what could happen if your church’s leadership team journeyed through this book together, opening space for meaningful conversations with younger generations about the exciting possibilities ahead. Even if you do not read the book, my hope is that you will begin to see and celebrate the emerging leaders already among you. As you invite them to join in the work God is doing, may they be inspired, equipped, and ready to carry forward the mission you have so faithfully nurtured, ensuring that God’s transformative work continues to grow and flourish through your church for generations to come.