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Nominate America’s Most Innovative Churches
Aug112007 Filed under: Churches Author: Tony Morgan
Once again, I’m going to be partnering with Outreach magazine
to develop the second annual America’s Most Innovative Churches list,
coming in the January/February 2008 issue. We want your help! We want
to hear about the churches YOU think are innovative, the churches, perhaps under our radar, that are doing ministry "out of the
box." What churches are using new strategies and methods in an effort to fulfill the Great Commission by delivering the unchanging Gospel message?
It could be your own church, or a church you admire. Nominate a church
for consideration by the panel of experts that I will be connecting with in the coming days. They will be compiling a list of 25
churches, both from your nominations and their own research and
experience, that will be featured as America’s Most Innovative Churches
in 2008.
If you’d like to follow along at home, I’ve created a Squidoo lens to track the churches that have been nominated so far. Stay tuned for more details and dialogue. In the mean time, I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this question:
In your opinion, what makes a church innovative?
UPDATE: By the way, you only need to nominate your church one time. This isn’t a vote. The panel will make the final selection.
12 Responses to “Nominate America’s Most Innovative Churches”
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Tony Morgan is a pastor and the Chief Strategic Officer at NewSpring Church where he develops creative solutions for communications, technology and NewSpring Ministries--the church's ministry that equips other church leaders.
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JG
August 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Question:
If a church isn’t on the list this year, will you explain why? If a church moves up the list, or down (might be fun with little arrows and such for how many spots) can you explain the ‘hot or not’ status? It might be fun to get quotes from other churches about the nominated church as well.
Cool stuff, man! JG
Chris
August 11th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
I like the list. When I hear about churches doing some new things it opens up some new resources, sparks some creativity, usually leads to making some new friends. I like JG’s suggestion as well.
It would also be good to hear how the INNOVATION is EFFECTIVE in seeing people come to faith in Christ. I’m worried that we are beginning to hold up innovation over life-change.
Richard H
August 11th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
The most innovative churches (or organizations) are those that employ the most discontinuous methods/practices/strategies to fulfill their mission. Therefore, some of the churches we judge “innovative” are simply so in comparison with the mass of churches out there. If we’d like, we can say that’s enough - just do something that can’t be arrived at via a straight line from what everyone else is doing.
But I’d argue that the most innovative churches are those that are pursuing discontinuous change, i.e., not in a straight line from what they’ve been doing, in relation to themselves. Of course the disadvantage of measuring innovativeness this way is that it is extremely difficult to be discontinuous all the time (and retain any kind of coherence).
The primary model for the church in this kind of innovation may or may not cause a church to appear innovative. If all we do is what we’ve always done, we’re clearly NOT innovative. But if we are moment by moment following Jesus, who is always trying to reach an ever changing set of people, our pathway - from the perspective of someone not observing either Jesus or the group pursued - may seem purely chaotic.
Ken Row
August 12th, 2007 at 12:43 am
RE: What makes a church innovative…
Webster says an innovation is a new idea, method, or device. An innovative church must then be a church that introduces new ideas, methods, or devices. A successfully innovative church would be one that better accomplishes the great commission through their new ideas, methods, or devices.
Note: emulation is not innovation.
The first church to go multi-site was an innovator; the 100th wasn’t. The first theater church was an innovator; the 32nd wasn’t. Sunday School and Servant Evangelism were innovations when they started. Sermon series on Lost, 24, Survivor, etc. are not innovations at all — they are emulations. Purpose Driven Life was innovative at Saddleback, but not at First Presbyterian.
I’m not criticizing emulation. I’m just saying it’s not innovation. Emulation is perfectly fine, perhaps even wise; just don’t call it innovation.
An innovative church is on the bleeding edge of something — technology, staffing, methods, or whatever. They are doing something new and seeing great-commission results.
Bobby Gruenewald
August 12th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I emulate Ken’s thoughts…or perhaps Ken is emulating my thoughts from the similar post I wrote several months ago. Either way…we are in agreement
For full disclosure, my title is “Innovation Leader”, and the word “innovation” sounds cool. But, it is rare that we (LifeChurch.tv) have true innovations. We are definitely experimenters as we look to find ways of being more effective in ministry.
Many times emulation or adaptation is more effective than innovation at connecting with people since you have a proven model to follow. But, I agree with Ken that these things should not be labeled as innovations…they simply are not.
Even if new…it is not only a technology, application, program, or teaching series. Innovation can also happen in less obvious ways…like in behind-the-scenes processes that people don’t always see from the outside. The most innovative churches are likely churches that are growing because of process innovation and they will be hard to recognize.
It is also important to note that it does not take big resources to innovate. Usually innovation happens inside of constraints (like no money, few people).
My two cents
Dave Anderson (moviepastor)
August 12th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I agree with those who say emulation is not innovation. I tend to be an emulator. Take what someone does - do it to the best of your ability or better. I want to be an innovator and Im working on that but emulation is not innovation.
You can be innovative and have a few flops or not be the biggest kid on the block. Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world. So is Steve Jobs. neXt was a flop. Apple totally failed at the PDA. They are not the biggest PC vendor by a long shot. So innovation doesn’t always translate into a megachurch. You could be a niche player and be innovative. I suspect there are churches that run 200 that are more innovative than rapidly growing churches that run 2000 that are emulative.
Ben
August 13th, 2007 at 12:06 am
I am a part of a new church plant in the Oklahoma City area. We have a working idea around here that goes like this…We are not trying to do church outside of any box…”THERE IS NO BOX!”
Anne Jackson
August 13th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I agree with most of the thoughts above re: emulation vs. innovation. And while I think it’s great to see and hear what others are doing in obeying their callings to reach their communities, and sharing that information is completely valuable and valid, my I be so bold (and quite possibly over analytical in my thinking) to say that these lists tend to put credit where it is deserved the least - on us…instead of where it is deserved most - on Him?
tony morgan
August 13th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Or, we could look at it as a way to celebrate what God is doing in other ministries and create opportunities to learn from churches where God is doing a unique work. I guess it’s all perspective.
tony
Anne Jackson
August 13th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
No doubt. Sorry, I probably should have separated those sentences
(…I think it’s great to see and hear what others are doing in obeying their callings to reach their communities, and sharing that information is completely valuable and valid…)
so it wouldn’t be lost in translation.
My bad.
Mark Batterson
August 14th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Tony,
Glad that Outreach is doing this again. And I think you’re the guy to spearhead it. Really appreciate the way you keep a pulse on what’s happening around the country.
Like others, I’m concerned about this becoming something other than an “innovative” list
It can easily become a popularity contest or “who’s the biggest” or “who’s the hippest” kind of thing. Fortunately, I know you see through that.
I really think we need to celebrate innovation. We have a core conviction at NCC: there are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet.
I think originality is the essence of innovation. I think we need to celebrate those churches that are doing things different. But the difference comes from their ability to exegete culture and incarnate the gospel message. That may be a branded sermon series or a creative outreach to the community.
I’ve always believed that the most innovative churches are the ones we don’t know about yet
But this kind of conversation gets the church thinking in the right direction–toward the future.
Thanks,
Mark
Jeff Hook
August 20th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Tony,
Thanks for taking this on again; I believe it provides value to all churches to see what they may see but are not in the position to do thus taking the risk associated with being the innovator.
I would like to add that many times we celebrate the innovation of the successful when it is the innovation of the unsuccessful that can lead to others’ ultimate success. Failure can provide the framework and foundation for future success.
So what is a good measure of innovation? How can we support innovation as an industry?
jhook