STOP Copying Other Churches

I pretty frequently have the opportunity to check out churches I’ve never been to. Sometimes it’s because I’m leading worship there, sometimes it’s because I like seeing what other churches are doing. Through the summer, my church met on Sunday nights, so that allowed me the opportunity too. There’s something I see quite often that I want to discuss for a minute: copying other churches.

I went to a church a few weeks ago that looked, sounded, and felt a lot like Elevation Church. A little too much like Elevation in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I like Elevation Church, but it wasn’t an Elevation campus. And it wasn’t any kind of Elevation partnership. It wasn’t a coincidence either. This church had copied nearly everything about an Elevation campus.

That’s not the first time I’ve seen one church imitate another. Many of you have probably recognized similar things: I’ve seen churches that strive to look like Hillsong, Bethel, or many other influential churches. I’ve heard preachers who ONLY re-preach well known preachers. I’ve seen worship teams who only lead one worship bands music.

I think that’s a problem. Here’s why:

1. It isn’t authentic

It isn’t inherently bad to base some of what you do off of someone else, but sometimes it just isn’t you. Your congregation can tell if you’re forcing something. They can tell if you’re trying to be something you’re not.

2.   It wasn’t built for your people.

Sometimes there’s a reason something works for one church and not another. That reason is that thing was built around and for a specific people. What works in one church works because it’s that churches culture. It may not be yours and that’s okay.

What you should do instead:

1. Look for best practices

Best practices are what is working. They are procedures that are accepted as effective. That’s why we sometimes mimic other churches. Instead of mimicking them; though, let’s do something else: look for the PRINCIPLES behind best practices. Look for WHY something works and do that. Take what you can, but don’t take everything. Look for principles.

2.   Find what your people need

Always do what people need over what you want.

I led worship once for a congregation whose average age was around 107 years old. That may be a little bit of a stretch, but not by much. I didn’t ask a lot of questions going into it though, so I didn’t quite know that.

I started the worship set with a fast paced, guitar driven, “cool” song. Unfortunately, that’s not what they needed. I was doing what I liked, not what the church needed. They needed something a little less rock n roll. And probably something a little more hymn-like. I was focused more on music than ministry. I wasn’t focused on the needs of the congregation. Find what your people need and do that.

When you begin to implement principles instead of practices, you’ll begin feeling much more authentic. When you find what your church needs, you’ll begin building something your people can get behind. You should definitely pay attention to what other churches are doing, but don’t try to be them. God has given you a unique calling. Go after that!