The Futuring Church
Futuring is not just a concept; it's an action, exemplified by Jesus through His transformative way of life and His profound love for the world. The Holy Spirit continues to guide God's vision for the church's future. As the spiritual movement of church continues to emerge in multiple forms (church plants, Fresh Expressions, remissioned congregations, as well as many others) it's crucial to recognize how our forward-looking visions shape our current actions and collaborations. "The Futuring Church" introduces a concept for church leadership teams that harnesses Futures Thinking Literacy, Ignatian group spiritual discernment, an Open and Relational theological approach, and a commitment to Spirit-led visioning. Together, these elements foster practical strategies for church leadership teams, empowering them to discern and pursue their church's preferred future while recognizing the practical steps they need to take today. Move beyond traditional strategic planning and delve into the imaginative and transformative possibilities that The Futuring Church offers.
How Church Leaders Can Engage In Futuring
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Embed the priority of group spiritual discernment
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Develop group spirituality as a leadership skill
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Engage in Strategic Visioning (instead of just strategic planning)
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Release ministry imagination in a way that leads to your church's next practical steps
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Grow and strengthen a healthier church leadership culture
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Identify and affirm your church’s deepest values
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Learn to Co-Create your church’s vision with the Holy Spirit​
Future Oriented
There is an inherent future orientation to the Gospel. Jesus always drew our attention to who we could be with him.
Communal Discernment
Communal spiritual discernment unlocks higher group potential to become leaders who are led by Jesus.
Open and Relational
God's love driven power is inherently relational, while being open to bring about the future with us.
Steps Today
Imagining our preferred future reveals possible steps we might work on today to bring that future to life.
Consulting
Our consultative services usually start with conversations. We don't have a "Cookie Cutter" solution or an exact formula. We just believe that God wants to co-create an open future with humanity, where the exact details are still unknown. This co-creation requires spiritually discerning God's leading as a faith community.
So, we prayerfully listen with you to discern where the Spirit is already at work - and then enter into a deeper conversation to determine the next steps together. We might be able to help you, or we might know someone else who can. In the meantime, we are exploring the Futuring Church as a tool for teams to rely on the Spirit to form them and bring them together as the Body of Christ in order to live into God’s preferred future for you. "Futuring" enables you to discern steps your team can take TODAY to become that preferred future.
Rev Rob Hutchinson
Rev Rob Hutchinson, Director of Church Development for the Western NC Conference, is passionate about cultivating healthy church systems as we prayerfully notice the Holy Spirit’s creative sparks, nurture existing congregations to vibrant renewed life, and create new faith communities that produce vital, sustainable, and innovative congregations. Rob has been a pastor for more than 30 years, serving as a church planter, church revitalizer, coach, consultant, and conference-level director and strategist. With this perspective, he is committed to developing leaders who are led by Jesus as they discern and navigate their church's future.
Rev Rob Hutchinson
Church Developer
Director of Church Development for the Western NC Conference of the United Methodist Church