Discerning God’s Unfolding Future: The Futuring Church Framework for Congregational Renewal and Vitality

The Futuring Church: A Framework for Spiritual Discernment in Church Leadership Teams

By Rob Hutchinson

Many churches today navigate challenging realities – declining attendance, aging congregations, and financial uncertainty. Traditional planning and decision-making methods, often relying heavily on past experiences and familiar strategies, may not be sufficient in this rapidly changing cultural landscape. In response, a growing number of congregations are experimenting with an innovative approach known as "The Futuring Church."

Rooted in rigorous doctoral research, “The Futuring Church” provides a practical framework that encourages church leadership teams to shift their focus from managing current realities toward actively discerning and participating in God's unfolding future. Through intentional spiritual discernment, congregations are discovering fresh possibilities and renewed vitality.

Core Principles of ‘The Futuring Church’ Framework

“The Futuring Church” is not just another strategic planning tool. It is an intentional movement away from the conventional approach. It’s a spiritually driven framework built on several key principles:

• Prioritizing Spirit-Centered Discernment: Rather than beginning with familiar data points such as budgets or attendance figures, leadership teams learn to start conversations by prayerfully asking, "Where is God leading us next?"
• Collaborative Listening: Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, teams practice communal discernment, learning to recognize how God is actively guiding their church.
• Imaginative Futures-Thinking: Leaders engage in structured practices to envision multiple future possibilities, helping them remain flexible and responsive to God’s movement.

Practical Components of ‘The Futuring Church’

Congregations experimenting with “The Futuring Church” framework have found several practical components essential to cultivating effective discernment:

1. Leadership Discernment Cohorts

Inspired by a structured peer-group model from the initial research, churches form leadership discernment cohorts. These groups help leaders intentionally grow their ability to sense, reflect upon, and respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit through regular group practice and reflection.

2. Guided Discernment Exercises

Teams regularly practice discernment exercises adapted from Ignatian spirituality, including:

• The Examen: A reflective practice that increases spiritual awareness within daily ministry experiences.
• Imaginative Contemplation: Engaging scriptural imagination to identify fresh insights and possibilities for ministry.
• Consolation and Desolation Exercises: Recognizing spiritual movements toward or away from God’s presence, guiding wise decision-making.
• Dialogue instead of Debate: Intentionally structuring team conversations as dialogues—characterized by listening deeply, speaking authentically, and prioritizing mutual understanding—rather than debates, which often lead to polarized viewpoints and win-lose scenarios. Dialogue cultivates openness, curiosity, and deeper spiritual unity.

3. Futures Labs

Congregations have experimented with intentionally designed gatherings called "Futures Labs," creating opportunities for practical discernment and innovation. Different types of labs include:

• Scenario Planning Labs: Exploring multiple plausible future scenarios in prayerful discernment.
• Prototyping Labs: Developing and testing creative ministry ideas in a spiritually attentive environment.
• Visioning Labs: Exposing assumptions and revealing deep-seated values for the church, these labs are creating a pathway to prayerfully discerning and articulating a shared, Spirit-led vision for the church’s future.

4. Adaptive Leadership

Churches practicing “The Futuring Church” framework also embrace adaptive leadership principles, empowering leaders to step into new opportunities courageously. Leaders learn to balance faithful risk-taking with trust in God’s relational and transformative presence, often resulting in increased congregational resilience and spiritual confidence.

What Congregations are Discovering

Congregations across various contexts experimenting with “The Futuring Church” framework report tangible and encouraging outcomes:

• Renewed Spiritual Vitality: Leaders describe experiencing increased spiritual passion and deeper connection to their faith as they engage in regular communal discernment practices.
• Increased Creativity and Innovation: Congregations report developing fresh ministries that resonate authentically with the needs of their communities, often surpassing traditional expectations.
• Stronger Communal Vision: Through consistent discernment practices, leadership teams describe gaining clarity, unity, and a renewed sense of purpose and direction.

These experimental outcomes suggest that intentional spiritual discernment has the potential to renew congregational life profoundly.

How Churches Can Begin Experimenting

Any congregation interested in moving toward a discernment-centered leadership culture may explore “The Futuring Church” framework. Churches interested in beginning their discernment experiments may consider initial steps, such as:

• Organizing initial cohort gatherings for leadership to explore communal discernment.
• Integrating regular discernment exercises into leadership team meetings.
• Planning their first Futures Lab to experiment creatively with new ministry possibilities.

The journey of discerning God’s future is inherently dynamic, creative, and spiritually enriching. Churches experimenting with “The Futuring Church” framework consistently describe their experiences as transformative, moving beyond managing familiar routines to actively and joyfully participating in God’s mission in new and unexpected ways.

Churches and leaders interested in exploring these ideas and insights can engage with ongoing reflections and practical resources at revrobhutch1.substack.com or explore deeper conversations at thefuturingchurch.com.

About Rob Hutchinson

Rob Hutchinson is a United Methodist elder, church developer for the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, and founder of “The Futuring Church,” a framework designed to help congregations prioritize spiritual discernment in leadership. His doctoral research focuses on equipping teams to faithfully discern God’s unfolding future.