Introduction

We are continuing in our series on the topic of paradigm shifts for churches in 2022 and beyond.  You can go here to see the first article in the series.  Today we discuss a fourth paradigm shift that I believe needs to happen for churches to move forward: a shift from a country club mentality to a hospital mentality.

Think about the many differences between a country club and a hospital.  People at a country club are alike in many ways.  Many of them must come from the upper class or have some form of considerable means to be able to afford the membership fees.  Country club members are united around a centralized location—the country club.  Those who join the country club usually have similar hobbies or recreational pursuits.  Most importantly, country club members have a vested interest in keeping the country club unchanged.  In short, a country club is a haven for like-minded people who can retreat from those in their lives who are unlike themselves and rub shoulders with those who are of a similar class and share similar interests.  Now contrast this with a hospital.  A hospital is remarkably different from what was described above.  Anyone can go to a hospital; no entrance requirements exist.  People who visit a hospital come from a variety of social and economic backgrounds, and they come for a great variety of reasons.  But one need unites those who come to a hospital—they all need some sort of medical help and they have only one place where they can find it.

Now imagine these illustrations in the setting of a church.  Some churches are like country clubs.  They have a similar membership, people who are of a similar class, or those who like similar things.  They want their “country club church” to stay the way it always has been and always offer the items they prefer.  Most importantly, they want to keep out anyone who is not like them or who would not fit their country club mold.  They do not want to change the constituency because if the constituency changes, so does the country club.  Many churches are like country clubs in that they emphasize uniformity and a legacy of unchanging ministry. Country club churches may last for a while, even some of them for a long time.  But eventually, they will struggle to keep their doors open.

Other churches are like hospitals.  Their main goal is to give sick people the healing power of the Gospel, and it does not matter how sick people may be; hospital churches delight in ministering to them.  Hospitals accept anyone.  One does not need to worry about being kicked out of a hospital just because of being sick.  Whereas in a country club one might have to leave if he or she does not meet the standards for membership, hospitals accept anyone who is sick.  In the same way, churches ought to accept anyone who is sick, because churches have the medicine that everyone needs—that of the sacred Word of God!  Churches that are poised to thrive view the Bible as the book that has all the answers to the world’s problems and presents God’s Word as such.  But here is the thing: they do not simply say this in theory, they put this philosophy into practice.  These types of churches are not embarrassed or put off by the degree of “sickness” of people who come through their doors.  Rather, these churches welcome the sick with open arms, knowing that their God has the answers.  Instead of being met with ridicule and shame, “sick” people are met with love, kindness, and can find help because they have checked into a hospital that prioritizes healing over changelessness.

This should be the ultimate goal of a church—to help people find healing in Jesus, not to keep a certain style of people who are “just like us.”  Churches that are hospitals are constantly changing because they realize that they must to meet the needs of people in a changing world.  Country club churches rarely change; their mission is to stay the same as they always were.  As such, they are often full of older people who know how to get what they want and have spent their life building the church as their legacy.  Only their legacy will not last.  Because churches country club churches are rarely growing.  Yes, the faithful people who have attended the church for years are still blessed by the ministry of the Word that takes place every week, but any life that was in the church has since left.  Why?  Because it is a country club.  It capitalizes on catering to the elite who fit into a mold and meet all the requirements for membership.  This is fine if you run in country club circles, but most of these churches are not positioned in communities where this is the case.  The result is that country club churches do not grow.  These churches become an isolated entity with walls all around, barricaded from its community.  This is often a great frustration for a country club type of ministry because they are able to look across town at the “other” church or churches which are reaching people in their community and seeing people come to know Jesus.  The country club church members oftentimes scratch their heads and have difficulty figuring out why other churches are thriving while they are struggling.  The difference in many of these cases is that the “other church” is a hospital.  Hospital churches are meeting the needs of people where they are at and are not trying to raise them to “elite status.”  These churches are simply following the model of Jesus, who would not cast out anyone who came to Him.

Final Thoughts

Churches that will move forward in the future will understand the difference between a hospital and a country club type of church.  These churches will be ready to offer the hope of the Gospel message to anyone who desires it and will not be concerned about holding on to their legacy of “church like it used to be.”  They will value people over their programs, make the necessary adjustments to their ministry philosophy, and the result will be fruitful ministry.

Questions to ask of your church:

1) Does my church have a developing ministry structure, or have we always done the same things?

2) Does my church keep dying programs running, or are we willing to perform healthy evaluation and change what has been struggling?

3) How does our church view outsiders?  Is our ministry structure set up to reach those who did not grow up in church culture, or is our church only for “church people?”

4) What would someone who never set foot in a church think of your Sunday service?  Would they be pointed to the hope available through Jesus or would they feel like they could never fit in and be accepted?