Opportunities for Church Plants As Well As Established Churches
Rising Uncertainty Disrupts the Status Quo
Our world is changing quickly, and many are experiencing isolation, loneliness and anxiety at levels we are not used to seeing. Just perhaps many who have been closed in the past may be opening to the spiritual. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is the case.
Church Plants and churches that are sensitive to these issues and wish to minister in a way that addresses them are seeing opportunities for reaching out into their communities opening up.
McCrindle Research comment that:
“The global events of early 2026 have created a unique set of pressures as international unrest and economic volatility ripple through society, in ways reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The role of social media in delivering real-time insights to people’s doorsteps is also starting to take a toll on the national psyche. (The Impact of Global Events on Australia’s Moral and Behaviour – April 2026)
Uncertainty disrupts long held attitudes and this presents opportunities both for churches to assist and for spiritual conversations to be held.
Following are some thoughts on how churches and church plants can be well placed to minister.
Increased Feelings of Isolation
Loneliness is already a major problem in our Nation. Patrick Parkinson AM, Executive Director of Public writes:
Restrictions on the ability to travel far will only increase the sense of isolation and loneliness that many will face. What an incredible opportunity this presents the church to provide life giving community not just to people within the church but for people outside of the church who are desperate for connection!
The Church has an amazing opportunity to reach out into the community in numerous and creative ways to connect with the lonely and the isolated. There is great opportunity to reach out with programs like Alpha but also with friendship and social groups or practical training courses training people for example how to be a barista.
As an example, at Tailrace Community Church we offer Baby Sensory and Toddler Sense classes that generally have more than 100 families from the broader community engaged in ways that not only provide practical skills but also support through friendship and community. We also offer young mums’ groups that follow on from these classes.
The opportunities that the churches have to provide community and friendship are endless. And new church plants have the opportunity to start with a blank canvas to construct ways of reaching into the community addressing felt needs that come from lack of genuine connection and community.
Rising Anxiety Levels
McCrindle Research have identified rising anxiety levels with 51% of Australians saying that they feel anxious, even higher than the 45% recorded during the first COVID-19 lockdowns. (The Impact of Global Events on Australia’s Moral and Behaviour – April 2026)
As volatility and uncertainty in our world increases, so too will the anxiety that many face as they are confronted with circumstances that they cannot control. Paul in Romans 12:2 tells us that we will be transformed as our thinking changes and in Philippians 4 he talks about how God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds.
Surely the Christian Church is well placed to provide an environment where loving community combined with wise and discerning teaching can help anxiety levels reduce. That’s not to say that at times professional counsel won’t be necessary; there are times that it will. But the Christian Church has so much to offer providing wise counsel and supportive community.
Some churches may decide to have quiet places in their services or to teach breath prayer or to take groups on nature walks or form gardening groups as an example. This isn’t about providing gimmicky solutions or watering down our message, but in reading the times and responding accordingly and intentionally so that we can journey with people to assist them and to introduce Jesus to them.
OK, here comes the caveat. Speculation about this being the end times will not help. Such talk will increase anxiety levels rather than reduce them. We must be wise in how we minister and talk to people, particularly those from outside the church who are seeking what the church has to offer. We must seek to help people through circumstances rather than hypothesising what may occur.
For new church plants, loving connection and friendship not only at the weekend services but away from them also are powerful weapons, as does prayer. The darker the world around us gets, the brighter the light of the church should shine.
The Search For Spiritual Answers
In times when a person’s worldview is shattered, many will be forced to question its validity and seek other answers. This presents the Church with amazing opportunity. There are signs that we are moving from a post-Christian environment to a pre-Christian environment.
In a post-Christian environment there is much baggage around how the Church is perceived (rightly or wrongly) to have hurt people as well as other issues that have caused some to flee the church, vowing never to come back.
A pre-Christian environment more closely resembles Acts, where pre conceived ideas about Jesus, Christianity and the Church weren’t held. With a pre-Christian mindset I have heard of stories where people have walked into a church asking what Christianity is all about, because they just don’t know. I have seen people with no or little church background decide they need to explore faith and start coming to church or groups like Alpha. Not all non-Christians are closed. Some are open or even searching.
As people are searching, we must be prepared to listen more than talk, to understand the deeper questions and concerns without giving glib answers. And we must have a theology of suffering that we can teach people about so that they understand that God is still God, and He is still in control even when bad things happen and when He doesn’t answer our prayers as we would like.
The search for spiritual answers presents an amazing opportunity for both established churches and church plants alike. but we must position ourselves to engage with those with questions, to listen attentively and ask our own questions, and to adopt a posture not of the know all expert but of the helpful guide showing the way to Jesus.
In these “never normal” times, church plants and churches willing and able to try new things have an unprecedented opportunity to adapt to our changing world and to forge ways of engaging with the community, of “doing church” and of sharing the good news of Jesus that are appropriate for the times we are now in.
