What If the Most Innovative Thing Your Church Could Do Is Less?

I sometimes look at a church newsletter packed with activities and have a counterintuitive reaction.

I wonder if the church knows what it's trying to do.

That's not because programs are bad. Congregations do incredibly meaningful things together —worship, Bible studies, mission projects, fellowship dinners, children's ministries, community events.

But activity and purpose aren't the same thing.

And when we're not quite sure what to do, we tend to do what we know how to do.

We add another program. Plan another event. Start another initiative. Fill another square on the calendar.

That's why something Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean said in a recent conversation on our Igniting Imagination® podcast stopped me:

"I actually think one of the most innovative things a lot of us can do in churches is less."

Less. This from someone who has spent decades helping the church think about innovation and new forms of ministry.

But Kenda's point wasn't that congregations should simply cancel programs or clear their calendars. She was asking us to remember what all that activity is for.

Programs aren't the ministry itself. They're supposed to create opportunities for something deeper to happen — for people to encounter God, form relationships, ask meaningful questions, notice one another, and become more like Jesus.

Kenda calls this the practice of "being with."

Jesus certainly taught and gathered crowds. But so much of his ministry happened while being with people. Walking. Eating. Asking questions. Noticing the person others walked past. Spending time with people who needed his presence.

What if some of our activity is actually making that harder?

What if our full calendars leave little room for the conversations that matter? What if we're spending so much energy keeping programs running that we have less capacity to notice the people right in front of us?

The answer isn't necessarily to cancel everything.

It's to get clearer about purpose.

Look at your church calendar. Your staff meeting agenda. Your budget. Even your own week.

What is all of this activity making possible?

Where is it creating connection? Where are people being formed? Where are relationships deepening? Where is it helping your congregation live more fully into its particular calling?

And where might doing less actually create room for more?

Maybe the next faithful step for your church isn't adding something new.

Maybe it's becoming clearer about what matters enough to keep doing.

This reflection was inspired by a recent episode of the Igniting Imagination® podcast with Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and a distinguished Locke Innovative Leader. Listen to the full conversation to hear Kenda and Texas Methodist Foundation President and CEO Rev. Lisa Greenwood explore innovation, Christian formation, younger generations, and what the changing shape of the church might be inviting us to become.