5 Resources to Help You Imagine Church Differently
We talk a lot about doing church differently—but what does that actually mean? Sometimes it’s easier to get creative or think outside the box when we can learn from others who are already experimenting, adapting, and discovering new ways to be faithful in changing times.
Whether your congregation is starting to ask questions about building use, community presence, or mission renewal, these resources offer real-world stories and practical tools from diverse ministry contexts. They can help spark conversation and inspire action as you discern your next faithful step.
Reimagining Church: A Toolkit
Created By: Center for Religion and Civic Culture - find them here
This resource is designed to help congregations reflect on how they can respond faithfully to changing cultural, spiritual, and community realities. It brings together a range of materials—short essays, case studies, reflection guides, videos, and interactive tools—organized under six themes: Wellness, Leadership, Theological Framework, Community Engagement, Collaboration, and Technology.
The toolkit identifies ten characteristics of thriving congregations, including being adaptive, networked, embodied, and deeply rooted in place. Each section includes discussion questions and exercises that can be used by leadership teams, small groups, or congregations as a whole.
It includes topics such as clergy mental health, shared leadership models, rethinking church property use, building community partnerships, and using technology in thoughtful and relational ways. Tools such as appreciative inquiry, asset mapping, and spiritual discernment exercises support practical next steps.
The materials can be used on their own or woven together over time as part of a broader process of congregational reflection and renewal. It is suitable for any church leadership team beginning to ask “What’s next for us?” in light of current realities.
Download the Toolkit Here
Building Belonging: The Church’s Call to Build Community and House Our Neighbours
Author: Rev. Dr. John Cleghorn, pastor of Caldwell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina
Cleghorn began his ministry at Caldwell in 2007 after a 25-year career in journalism and banking. He helped lead a small, aging congregation through a season of transformation, growing into a multicultural, justice-focused church committed to hospitality, community partnerships, and affordable housing.
Building Belonging draws from that journey and others like it, offering theological reflection and practical examples of how churches can respond to housing needs in their neighborhoods. It includes case studies from across the United States where congregations are creating housing on church land, building new partnerships, or engaging in advocacy around affordability and justice.
The book speaks directly to churches wondering how to use their property and presence for the common good. It provides tools for discernment and storytelling, rooted in local context. Cleghorn’s pastoral lens and background in public policy give the book both warmth and clarity.
Find the book here
The Innovative Church Leaders Podcast
Host: Dr. Eric Michael Bryant - Campus Pastor at Gateway Church in Austin, Texas
This podcast explores how church leaders are adapting their ministries to serve in a post-Christian culture. Each episode features practical conversations with pastors, innovators, and creatives who are experimenting with new ways of gathering, discipling, and engaging with their communities.
Eric brings experience from decades in church leadership, including his current role as Campus Pastor at Gateway Church in Austin, Texas—a church known for its motto “no perfect people allowed.” Prior to that, he served at Mosaic in Los Angeles with Erwin McManus, helping shape one of the most diverse and creatively engaged churches in the U.S.
The podcast covers themes like bivocational leadership, inclusive ministry, church planting, digital discipleship, and forming community in spaces beyond traditional models. Guests share what they’re learning as they lead through complexity and change, making this a valuable resource for pastors, lay leaders, and ministry teams alike.
Episodes typically run 30–45 minutes and can be used for individual learning or team discussion. The podcast is part of Bryant’s broader work with Catalyzing Community, a nonprofit dedicated to helping leaders make disciples in today’s cultural landscape.
Listen to the Podcast Here
Rooted Good
RootedGood is a nonprofit organization that creates tools and processes to help churches and faith-based organizations align money and mission. It was launched in 2019 out of the work of Matryoshka Haus, a collective focused on innovation at the intersection of faith and social enterprise.
RootedGood’s most popular resource, Mission Possible, is a design-thinking game used by churches, nonprofits, and denominational bodies to clarify identity, discern purpose, and generate new ideas. It’s structured to facilitate collaboration and can be used in retreats, staff development, or strategic planning. No special expertise is required to run it.
The organization also offers tools like the What Now Discernment Process and the Good Futures Accelerator, helping congregations navigate property transitions, community partnerships, and funding challenges. Their approach blends theological reflection with practical strategy, especially for churches wondering how to remain relevant and impactful in a post-Christian context.
RootedGood’s work is closely tied to the writing and leadership of Rev. Mark Elsdon, one of its co-founders. His book We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry challenges churches to rethink the assumption of scarcity and recognize the overlooked value in their land, buildings, and investments. It combines theological reflection with case studies and examples of churches using property for housing, social enterprise, and community renewal. Find the book here
Elsdon also edited Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition, a collection of essays from pastors, scholars, planners, and Indigenous leaders addressing the practical, social, and spiritual implications of church property decisions. Find the book here
Sacred Spaces, Innovative Places
Created by: The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - learn more about them
This resource gathers six case studies from churches across the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that have taken intentional steps to reimagine how their buildings and properties serve both their congregations and their broader communities. It speaks directly to churches that are navigating declining attendance, financial pressures, or a sense that their facilities are underused.
The featured churches vary in size and setting—urban, suburban, and rural—and each has approached the use of space differently. Some have created partnerships with nonprofits and community groups, while others have pursued rental income, affordable housing development, or creative reconfigurations of worship and gathering space. The document presents each story with a clear sense of context, challenge, and outcome, providing helpful insight into how decisions were made and what was learned along the way.
The resource acknowledges the emotional and spiritual significance of church buildings, while also naming the financial and operational realities many congregations face. It encourages honest reflection and offers practical questions to consider.
This is a useful tool for church leaders, boards, or building committees beginning to discern how space might be used more fully, missionally, or sustainably—whether through partnership, adaptation, or redevelopment.