I have seen the future. For the past two months, my family has attended Passion City Church (PCC) in the Atlanta area on Sunday evenings. PCC is pastored by Louie Giglio with Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels among others leading worship. I have never experienced anything like it.
We attend our wonderful home church, Fellowship Bible Church, on Sunday mornings but our nights are free so we began attending the PCC services. The following are the takeaways from this church of the future that we can all learn from and apply to our areas of discipline.
- Sole Purpose – Everything at PCC is centered on one thing…Jesus. Every song exalts Jesus. Every sermon is about Jesus. Christ gets lost in many aspects of Christianity, but not at PCC. The church of the future focuses solely on Jesus.
- Relational Leadership – I have talked in many posts about the importance of unified leadership. PCC takes that concept to a level I have never seen. There is commitment to each other on a staff level that is obvious and genuine. The church of the future has staff with deep-rooted, almost familial relationships.
- Talent – PCC’s talent is unmatched. What is unique, however, is Louie’s ability to lead artists. Many pastors delegate those complex relationships to worship leaders. In our visual society, the church of the future has senior leadership who prioritize, connect, and lead artists well.
- Energy – When attending a PCC service, you are immediately struck by people standing and clapping as the musicians take the stage. Energy, along with its twin brother Expectation, can be taught and cultivated as demonstrated here. The church of the future generates and leverages energy.
- Grand Vision – “for God. for people. for the city. for the world.” Those words are PCC’s mission statement and DNA. Applause broke out recently when we witnessed a video of Tomlin leading worship during a Passion Conference attended by thousands of students in British Columbia. The church of the future hopes to make Jesus famous in all the cities of the world.
- Commitment To Students – Louis is in his 50s but has such a heart for students. The church of the future has a heart for and prioritizes the next generation.
- Everyone Matters – A PCC service is largely populated by students but there is a large segment of 40+ in attendance. All age groups are attracted to great movements of God. The church of the future is a community of faith that is multi-generational.
- Solutions – PCC is meeting the needs of the hurting, marginalized, and under-resourced both in Atlanta and around the world. The church of the future identifies, strategizes, and solves life’s most pressing issues.
- Non-Promotional – PCC never does announcements (Praise God!!!). Everyone is driven to the church’s website. Once again, it’s all about Jesus. The church of the future uses technology as the primary stream of communication.
- Selfish Generosity – PCC creatively and openly asks for lavish generosity. Because of the ministry’s impact, I am privileged to participate. PCC also does an excellent job of connecting the dots as to how my resources are utilized to relieve suffering and meet needs. In essence they say “I want your money and here is how God is going to leverage it to change lives!” The church of the future selfishly demands generosity on behalf of those who can’t ask for help.
I would challenge those in leadership who are not Christ followers to still attend a Passion City Church service. The takeaways you would glean about leading a church of the future will change the way you run your constantly evolving organization today.
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