Are the best days of the church behind us? Or ahead? Kara Powell and Ray Chang join Mark Labberton to discuss Future-Focused Church: Reimagining Ministry to the Next Generation, co-authored with Jake Mulder. Drawing on extensive research, practical frameworks, and decades of leadership at Fuller Seminary and the TENx10 Collaboration, Powell and Chang map a path forward for the church—one rooted in relational discipleship, kingdom diversity, and tangible neighbour love. In a moment marked by disaffiliation, disillusionment, and institutional fragility, they offer a hopeful vision: churches that are brave enough to listen deeply, lead adaptively, and partner with the next generation in mission. This conversation unpacks their “Here to There” framework, the role of human agency in ecclesial change, and why honouring young people isn’t pandering—it’s planting seeds for the future of faith.

Episode Highlights

1. “We believe the best days of the church are ahead.”
2. “Leadership begins with listening.”
3. “Unless strategy emerges out of culture, or unless the culture is changed, it’s really hard to lead.”
4. “Everything rises when we focus on young people.”
5. “Agency is the intersection of knowing, being, and doing.”

Helpful Resources and Links

• Future-Focused Church by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Ray Chang (InterVarsity Press)
• Fuller Youth Institute—Research and innovation for youth ministry
• TENx10 Collaboration—Movement to help faith matter more for ten million young people over ten years
• Asian American Christian Collaborative—Equipping Asian American Christians for faithful public witness
• ”Churches and Change: Adaptive Leadership”—Heifetz on adaptive vs. technical change (Harvard Business Review)
• Rethinking Church in the 21st Century (Fuller Seminary)—Ongoing work in contextual theology and church innovation

About Kara Powell

Kara Powell is the chief of leadership formation at Fuller Seminary, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, and founder of the TENx10 Collaboration. A leading voice in youth ministry and church innovation, she is author or co-author of numerous books including Sticky Faith, Growing Young, and 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager. She is co-author of Future-Focused Church: Reimagining Ministry to the Next Generation.

About Ray Chang

Ray Chang is executive director of the TENx10 Collaboration and president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative. A pastor, activist, and writer, Ray’s work focuses on racial justice, next-gen discipleship, and building churches that reflect the diversity of God’s kingdom. He is co-author of Future-Focused Church: Reimagining Ministry to the Next Generation.

Show Notes

• Kara Powell is chief of leadership formation at Fuller Seminary and executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute
• Ray Chang is executive director of the TENx10 Collaboration and president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative
• Future-Focused Church offers a framework for adaptive change, grounded in Scripture, research, and practical leadership
• “Leadership begins with listening”—Kara shares the importance of appreciative inquiry and asking youth what matters to them
• Ray describes today’s church as “a church actively trying to define and redefine itself in tumultuous and complex times”
• Simple but powerful framework: Here to There—understanding where we are and where God is calling us next
• Three checkpoints of a future-focused church: relationally discipling young people, modelling kingdom diversity, tangibly loving our neighbours
• “Everything rises when we focus on young people”—churches flourish when the next generation is centered
• Data shows only one in three senior pastors rank young people among their top five priorities
• Kara: “I wish the problem was that young people were overly prioritized—sadly, it’s the opposite”
• Church innovation isn’t just strategic, it’s adaptive: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
• Ray explains why Covid exposed the difference between technical and adaptive change in the church
• Kara: “We overestimate what we can accomplish in one year and underestimate what we can do in three to five.”
• Biblical foundations explored—Paul’s epistles blend being and doing; Galatians 5 offers a model of fruitful action
• Human agency as divine invitation—Ray: “God invites us to partner in God’s work for the flourishing of humanity”
• Kara’s church story: youth sat in the front, fully engaged—“They prioritized us”
• Simple action steps from churches include showing up to youth events and publicly celebrating young people’s milestones
• Mark Labberton challenges the idea of “pandering” to youth—Kara responds with data and theological reflection
• Ray reflects on the complex dynamics in immigrant and second-gen Asian American churches—“placelessness” and a search for belonging
• Importance of community: following Jesus together, across generations, cultures, and neighbourhoods
• Kara reframes giving: “Young people want to give to people and to purpose—not to perpetuate programs”
• “Culture is where values are held; unless strategy aligns with culture, it will be resisted”—Ray on organizational change
• Intergenerational relationships are critical—older adults model faith and love through presence and commitment
• The book offers not just direction but formation: process, practice, and people matter as much as the goal
• “If there’s ever a moment to care about the church—and young people—it’s now.”

Production Credits

Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment magazine and Fuller Seminary.