Jesus is the foundation upon which we are built and that's never going to change, but that doesn't mean that everything else about church shouldn't change.
It's only been a few weeks since the new interactive app, Pokemon Go, launched to users, but it's taken the internet by storm. Reports show that the mobile game has overtaken Twitter amongst United States users. And with the craze that is Pokemon Go, churches can actually learn a thing or two from the app about how to break out in revival.
If there's one thing we can learn as a church from Pokemon Go, it's to go as well. Here are four lessons that churches and ministries can learn from Pokemon Go on becoming a more vibrant and effective movement by going.
Leave your comfort zone. With Pokemon Go being an interactive game that requires users to move around to find and catch Pokemon, people are actually going out to the streets, parks and even to churches just to find Pokemon. If people can get out to find something as valuable as virtual monsters, how much more should we Christians go out of our way to reach out to the lost, broken and hurting - who by the way are far more valuable than digital Pokemon?
Joshua 1:9 gives us a good picture of how we are to leave our comfort zones: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Relationship counts. One of the reasons why Pokemon Go was such a hit was the already existing and still growing community of Pokemon fans in the world who have been waiting forever for the latest news and updates. This only comes to show how important relationships are to people and how we as believers are to value relationships as well.
God is a relational God who builds up relationships, not doctrines, buildings, memberships or systems. God has commanded us to love Him and love one another because to God relationship counts as important.
Change is good. In some way or another, the universal church has not been very keen on change because change is often viewed as a threat to the way things are done. But the truth of the matter is that the world that we live in changes and we are to change as well. That doesn't mean that we "conform to the patterns of this world" as Paul would put it, but that we become "a Jew to the Jews" and "a Greek to the Greeks."
Marketing matters. Many churches hate the word "marketing" because it sounds dirty and we think it's something Jesus wouldn't do. But wasn't a lot of what Jesus did marketing? He healed the sick and cast out demons to draw the crowds and then He would preach to them, all with the purpose of making them know their Father God.
If there's anyone who has a product worth marketing, it's churches because our product is the Gospel and it's made available to everyone for free. And how do we market it? By getting out there, sharing the Gospel and doing plenty of good in Jesus' name.
