Time for some hard truth and real self assessment.  The Church has gotten comfortable. For too long, we’ve relied on cultural Christianity to do the heavy lifting for us. We built impressive buildings, filled pews with people who knew how to play the church game, and assumed that because our communities had churches on every corner, Jesus was winning the culture war.

But that era is gone. And maybe—even probably—that’s a good thing.

We live in a post-Christian world. Christianity no longer holds the cultural dominance it once did. People aren’t coming to church out of obligation or habit anymore. And let’s be real—many of them don’t see the Church as a beacon of hope but as an outdated institution, riddled with hypocrisy and filled with irrelevance.

So, what now? Do we keep tweaking our programs, hoping that if we make church just a little more attractive, people will magically show up? Do we throw in some coffee bars, trendier worship music, and another round of shallow small groups to keep people entertained? Or do we actually do what Jesus called us to do—make disciples?

Moving Beyond Consumer Christianity

For decades, churches have operated like spiritual vending machines: show up, get your inspirational message, grab a cup of coffee, and get on with your life. We’ve trained people to be religious consumers rather than transformed disciples of Jesus. And now, as culture shifts, those consumers are checking out.

But the mission of the Church was never about drawing crowds; it was about making disciples. It was about sending capacity not seating capacity. Discipleship isn’t about attracting people to a weekly service—it’s about equipping people to live out their faith in a world that no longer assumes Christianity as the default. That means:

  • Getting back to relational evangelism. Jesus didn’t build a marketing strategy—He built relationships. We can’t just preach at people; we have to walk with them. And “we” isn’t the pastors – it’s the men and women and children who make up the church.
  • Shifting from programs to presence. We don’t need more events; we need more people willing to invest in the messy, real lives of their neighbors. It’s not about calling people out of daily life but embedding ourselves into their everyday routines.
  • Making faith an all-week thing. Sunday morning Christianity is dead. The future Church will thrive when believers see themselves as missionaries in their workplaces, schools, and communities every single day. This is what we call the places where they live, work and play.

The Church as a Movement, Not an Institution

When Jesus launched His ministry, He didn’t build a brand. He didn’t craft a strategic plan. He invited people to follow Him, to surrender their lives, and to join a movement that would change the world. The early Church spread like wildfire not because they had great programming but because they had people on fire for Jesus. None of these things are wrong, but if they replace our fire for Christ, then they have to go.

Somewhere along the way, we traded that movement for maintenance. We became more obsessed with keeping people in the seats than sending them out into the world. But the post-Christian era is forcing us to reckon with a truth we should have never forgotten: the Church isn’t a building or a brand—it’s a people, empowered by the Holy Spirit, sent into the world to love, serve, and proclaim the Gospel.

The Future is Missional

The good news? Christianity thrives when it’s in the margins. Historically, the Church has always been at its strongest when it wasn’t the dominant power but the disruptive force of love, truth, and grace in a broken world.

So, let’s stop wringing our hands over declining attendance numbers. Let’s stop measuring success by how many people sit in our pews and start measuring it by how many people are sent into the world, living as bold witnesses for Jesus. Let’s be the kind of Church that doesn’t just ask, “How can we get people in the doors?” but instead asks, “How can we send them out as disciples?”

The world doesn’t need another comfortable, consumer-driven church. It needs a movement of Jesus-followers who refuse to settle, who live out radical love, and who bring the light of Christ into a dark world.

If you’re ready for this kind of life transformation, then welcome to the church. If you want soft, then maybe you should find a day spa.