John leads the Myriad church planting initiativewith The Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication, whichserves to connect and support those – especially lay leaders– who feel God is calling them to plant new churches as a wayof re-evangelising our nation. John is the author of  The Church of Tomorrow (SPCK, 2023).

What if the decline of the church in the West is not its death knell but part of its rebirth? Could the pain and conflict we’re experiencing be the birth pangs of a church moving from one epoch to another? And what if Jesus is not only comforting but disrupting his church, to set us free to follow him afresh?

Bishop Mark Dyer suggests that every 500 years or so the church is compelled to hold a ‘rummage sale’ to throw out things that once served us but now clutter our mission. Currently, 507 years after the Reformation, the church finds itself at a crossroads, asking questions such as, ‘What actually is a church?’ and, ‘How can we make disciples who make disciples?’

It is this humility that excites me. It opens us up to how Jesus is renewing and reforming his church again. My conviction is that this work is not a small course correction; it is a complete re-founding of the church on Jesus and his original intention for it.

The called-out ones

When Jesus told Peter he would build his church on the declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the word used for church was ‘ecclesia’ (Matthew 16:16-18). This word literally means ‘the called-out ones’ and was used in Greek and Roman culture to describe an assembly of local leaders who governed that community. In Acts 19 the word is translated ‘assembly’. The essence of the church is a community of people called out to follow Jesus and to invite others into his kingdom.

Jesus also describes how his church will push back the devil’s territory and set people free (Matthew 16:19). This puts the mission of extending Jesus’ rule on earth at the heart of every church community. When that happens the church is shaped by a dependency on the Holy Spirit, a deeper conviction of Jesus’ lordship and an openness to why his kingdom is good news in a particular context.

Local leaders

I hope you share my excitement about this, but it is important to remember that reformation involves significant change and cost, as Jesus asks us to leave behind those Christendom structures, traditions and practices that now restrict the church from being a disciple-making movement in our post-Christian context.

One central question is around who leads a church. If God’s strategy is forming an ecclesial community, which he can use to transform lives in every context, then empowering local people to lead and shape the church in those places will be key. They know what the church needs to look like there and they love the people around them. That is what we find in the early church, where people led churches in their homes and Paul greeted long lists of people who were significant in leading the church in each community.

The Myriad team I lead is involved in supporting over 70 teams of people who lead churches where God has placed them – in homes, a gym, gazebos, parks, cafes. These are more than Bible study groups; they are ecclesial communities (churches) – small teams of Christians gathered around Jesus and his call to reach people in those places.

What is our next step Lord?

These leaders and their small church communities need support. That is why alongsiders are so important – people with mature Christian faith and missional hearts to champion, support, challenge and pray for them.

Yesterday I met with Fi, a retired primary school teacher, who has started an informal church community in her village. It is already touching over 20 people without prior church connections. But each time we meet, she says, ‘I can’t do this.’ Yet, as we talk things through, she finds a way forward and brings the amazing gifts and insights God has given her to the work.

The early church had no idea what they were doing, but they had apostles and teams supporting and guiding them as they followed the Holy Spirit’s leading. This is a time for simplicity, for walking alongside one another and asking the most fundamental discipleship question: ‘What is our next step, Lord?’ I wonder what God will call you to do as you ask him that question.