The Next 25 Years Age-Old Needs Will Blend With Technology In Churches Of Future

Twenty-five years is a long time.

If you don’t think so, let me ask you this: How old were you 25 years ago? Ten? Twenty-five? Fifty?

Twenty-five years is not a long time at all. If you don’t think so, let me ask you this: How old will you be in 25 years? I will be 75 years old. Wow! Life is short.

As we start the new year - particularly this new year - everybody seems to be talking about what things might be like in the future.

I’ve seen articles posing a variety of questions for the new century: Will we still need to have sex? Will we live to be 125? And here’s a very important question that could help determine the answer to the first two: Will we keep getting fatter?

There are a couple of questions I haven’t seen asked or answered: How will we worship in 25 years? What will be the shape of faith and religion?

To these questions, I’d like to offer some predictions.

I can imagine arriving at a place of worship in some sort of levitating car. As I walk into the building, music and a pleasant, high-tech voice greets me as I sign in by placing my hand on the guest register.

The worship space is open and large, simple but artistic and full of people. There is no bulletin or printed material. Rather, on the wall there are soothing images and announcements being displayed.

Finally the service begins and out comes the worship leader, who looks a lot like … George Jetson!

OK, I know that sounds a bit silly. But you have to admit it’s far better than the robot from Futurama!

Other than the George Jetson pastor, experts tell us that the churches of the future will either be very large or very small. There will be very few of the in-between size churches that exist today.

This is because people will be looking for small intimate groups “where everybody knows your name” or large places with cafeteria-like selections on everything.

We will continue to see profound changes in how we think, how we buy and sell, and how we group ourselves for family, work and recreation.

Churches will have to reflect these changes, too.

People will be looking for community and participation in something larger then themselves, something that has meaning and purpose.

More than ever we will be a people in a culture that is image-driven. Much of the printed word will be replaced by icons and pictures.

The church worship space will be somewhat like that of our ancestors in stained-glass cathedrals. However, our images will move and have sound.

Technological and societal changes will greatly affect and transform church and faith, but if churches survive at all it will be because of the human need for relationships, spiritual enlightenment and encouragement.

The next 25 years will bring developments in science and medicine that will seem nothing short of miraculous by today’s standards.

At the same time, disasters, natural and man-made, will make those of the past seem mild.

Hate, pain, sorrow, deceit and death will not be changed by science, medicine, psychology or government intervention.

The church, faith and religion, will have the duty of trying to sort out these things, to make some sort of sense of them and give direction to where they might lead.

The theme of the spiritual will remain as it always has. The idea that God, not man, is the final authority will continue to be a message sought after for reassurance in ambiguous times.

In 25 years the largest part of the population will be aging Baby Boomers.

They will still be looking for answers to the question of their generation, “What’s it all about?”

Younger generations in 2025 will still be asking the question, “Does life have meaning and purpose?”

In this mix, religion’s message - compassion, love and second chances - will be as needed as ever.

Twenty-five years from now, the church will be vastly changed from what it is today, yet it will still have a core of similar ideas and values.

And don’t forget: we will all be 25 years older.