The Shift of 2026

The Shift of 2026

There are seasons when God whispers, and there are seasons when He starts rearranging furniture. 2026 feels like the latter. Not loud in the way we are used to, but undeniable in its impact. Something is shifting in the Body of Christ, not because God is trying something new, but because He is pulling us back to what has always worked. The noise is dying down. The excess is being stripped away. What remains is hunger, and hunger is always a sign that growth is close. I don't think the Church has ever been as hungry as it is right now.

For years, many believers have carried a quiet discomfort they could not quite name. Church attendance continued but became less important, services happened on schedule but became a timed experience instead of a God encounter. Church content was plentiful (shout clips, praise and worship videos, etc), yet something felt thin. People were present but not always connected. Engaged but not always transformed. That tension was not rebellion. It was discernment. God was allowing His people to feel the gap so they would be ready for the shift. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't always understand that this gap was God-breathed, but it is. He allowed it so He could come in and shift it.

LeaderSHIFT

One of the clearest markers of 2026 is leadership or as I'm calling it; leaderSHIFT. Millennials are no longer waiting for permission or position. We are stepping into responsibility, not as replacements, but as stewards of what comes next. I want that to be clear. We NEED the previous Generals of the Church to train and lead us. We got next though, and next is now. My generation has been shaped by instability, disillusionment, and exposure to good and the bad of Church. We watched institutions rise and fall. We saw faith mishandled and influence abused. That experience did not make us cynical, though; it made us careful.

Millennial leaders are not obsessed with building platforms. We know we need them and build them out of necessity, but we are committed to building trust. We want people to trust what God is doing and saying through us. We value authenticity over appearance and substance over spectacle. We are not trying to dismantle the Church. We are trying to make it honest again. We are going to dismantle the foolery, though. The fake offerings, the lying, cheating, and stealing. The misuse of church funds and the protection of mess. Nah, we're not doing that anymore. We want spaces where people can bring their whole selves, not just their Sunday versions, so we can work together to solve what ails us. We want the power that we were told the Church has. We want it now! No more excuses; no more waiting. The time to Shift is now.

CommuniSHIFT

That desire is pulling the Church back toward community. Digital ministry gave us reach, but it also exposed a deep relational deficit. Streams are helpful, but they are not healing. Posts inspire, but they do not replace presence. People are craving proximity again. Give it to them. Create spaces for them to gather that don't include offerings and prophetic words. Always include the Word. But people are lonely and want to gather, not just consume the ministry we stream. They want to belong to a church that is doing the work, not just observe the services.

In 2026, in-person gatherings will grow, not because people are tired of technology, but because they are tired of isolation. Please don't miss the opportunity to compel them to come because loneliness is at an all-time high since COVID. The most effective ministries will not be the most complex. They will be the most intentional. More game nights. More conversations. More shared moments. And in the middle of those moments, space for God. Not full services. Not drawn-out agendas. Just a short word, simple worship, and room for the Spirit to move naturally. Ten minutes of truth. Ten minutes of worship. Enough to anchor the moment without overwhelming it.

ParaSHIFT

Alongside this, parachurch movements will continue to rise. This has made some uneasy, as if it signals the decline of the local church. It does not. God is not done with the Church He instituted. He is simply allowing it to stretch. Parachurch organizations are not replacements. They are extensions. They are reaching into spaces the traditional Church has struggled to access and activating believers who were once sitting on the sidelines.

The Church is not losing ground. It is expanding its footprint.

BusinesSHIFT

Another area where the shift is becoming clear is business. Kingdom-minded entrepreneurship is moving from the margins to the center. Believers are recognizing that business is not separate from calling. It is one of its most powerful expressions. In 2026, entrepreneurship will increasingly be used as a tool for impact, not just income. In fact, income will increase for Kingdom businesses that make Kingdom impact a part of their operations.

We will see more businesses started with prayer, guided by values, and designed to serve people well. These entrepreneurs are not chasing profit alone. They are building ecosystems that create jobs, fund ministry, strengthen communities, and model integrity in the marketplace. Purpose and profitability are no longer being treated as opposites. They are being understood as partners. Kingdome businesses will touch people in ways that Church cannot. But they will also draw people to Church and to God.

All of this points to one truth. God is not rebuilding His Church from scratch. He is refining it. What looked like loss was actually pruning. What felt like silence was preparation. It may have seemed at times that the gates of hell were gaining ground, but 2026 will make something clear. They have not prevailed. Hell will never prevail against the Church. God will never yield His throne and we will never yield our post. We are the salt and light of this world. We are the light on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are above and not beneath. We are the Church of Jesus Christ. We are living, breathing, growing, powerful and we repent for being the distracted, weak and compromised Church that we have been.

This is a year where faith becomes practical again. Where leadership feels human again. Where community becomes central again. Where the Church remembers why it exists and who it is for. The shift is not dramatic for drama’s sake. It is deep, necessary, and long overdue.

And for those paying attention, it will feel less like disruption and more like coming home. I'm ready to Shift; are you?