The Trendy Trap

I think a lot of times in the church we have confused being trendy with being relevant. The truth is they are quite different. We all have a tendency to jump on the trendy band wagon. The challenge with doing ministry this way is that we will find ourselves constantly changing to try and keep up with the trend. All the while potentially missing the mark on being relevant. 

 We have fallen into this trap before too. We throw a catchy title on a sermon series. And think it makes it relevant. 

 We create an account on every social media platform and start posting ourselves preaching because that seems to be what we see other leaders with large social media followings doing. 

All of the songs on our pre-service playlist are from Kanye’s latest album. 

 Look… I am not saying any of these things are wrong or that we shouldn’t utilize them, however, I am saying that if we want to really build ministries that are thriving and reaching people for Jesus than its more important that we work on building relevant ministries not just trendy ministries. 

What does that look like? 

 I would encourage you to take a good look at the area of ministry you are responsible for and ask…

Why, Who, & How?

I think a lot of times we ask these questions out of order. If we focus on the “How” without knowing the “Why” it won’t accomplish what it’s supposed to. If we try to solve the “how” without knowing the “who” we won’t effectively reach the people that God has called us to reach.

The Why, Who, and How are all essential in building relevant ministries. Often times I see organizations or ministries change the “How” with never asking the “Why”, this can be detrimental. Sometimes the “How” needs to change, if you can accomplish the “Why” in a more effective way. However, changing it without knowing the “Why” behind it could have a very negative impact on your organization.

When you are looking at changing or implementing new structures, programming, events, etc… Always build it with the “Who” in mind. I have seen a lot of people build an organization or ministry based on themselves, not based on the people they are trying to reach. The problem with this approach is that it will disenfranchise the very people you are trying to reach.

Let’s build relevant ministries not just trendy ones. And it starts with asking the right questions.

Matt Moore

Pastor & Author of Intentional Youth Ministry