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May 4, 2011
Ok, I admit, I am a fan of American Idol. The Bible says confession is good for the soul. So, there it is out in the open.
As I watched the show with my family, I found myself paying more attention to who was in the crowd rather than those on the stage. Every time the cameraman panned through the crowd, you would see music artists from past Idol shows. I was amazed at how many of them, even though they didn’t win, had become music stars. After the fourth or fifth time they showed past contestants I realized that American Idol had become a game-changer in the American music industry. I wonder what the industries landscape might look like 10 years from now as American Idol continues to rake in the best and brightest musical talent from across the U.S.? It could be that the vast majority of those cutting albums will have been connected to the show.
I wonder what might be a game-changer for the American Church? What event, concept, or idea might have such an enormous impact on the movement of the church that years from now we look back and realize that the landscape of the church was radically altered by that idea? Let me suggest to you that the Legacy Churches concept could be that game-changing idea.
What if for every 1 church that closed in America, 2 could be planted? Wouldn’t that be a game changer? Every year around 4,000 churches close their doors. (Frankly, some don’t close that should. Some churches simply need to die.) On the other hand only about 2,500 to 3,000 new churches are started every year. We are losing the battle across our nation.
Imagine what might happen if we were to take the resources and assets from these 4,000 closing churches and use them to plant healthy, fast-growing new churches. How many might we be able to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? We might even see the start of another Great Awakening. Just so you know how significant these resources might be, if every closing church had an asset or property value of $25,000, (this is an extreme low-ball) that would mean the potential of 100 million a year that could be used for church planting. That, is what I call a game changer!
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