Recently I viewed a very interesting webinar that intrigued my thoughts about 2026.
Carey Nieuwhof is a Canadian pastor and a leadership expert known for helping church leaders thrive in a rapidly changing world. Recently, he did a free webinar titled 5 Strategic Shifts to Boost Momentum at Your Church in 2026. I listened and watched the live webinar with my library interests on my mind. This webinar is currently available free along with a summary of the podcast and a free digital book when you click the title.
The authors include the following as results of these 5 shifts.
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Move from attracting to truly engaging people
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Embrace digital discipleship without losing personal connection
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Position your church to lead culture instead of chasing it
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Fuel growth through proven, Spirit-led strategies
Keep in mind his audience includes pastors, age group ministers, discipleship ministers. As librarians, we need to stay informed as to what our pastors and ministers are learning through conferences, webinars, and podcasts so that we can understand the changes taking place in our churches/parishes/synagogues.
I encourage you to watch the free webinar or read the webinar summary as our discussion starter with the following questions:
What are the implications for church/parish/synagogue libraries now and in 2026?
What do libraries have to offer our churches/parishes/synagogues in making these shifts in the contexts of our communities?
Replies
Well, I just realized I listed my replies backwards. Sorry about that! I would delete and redo it but I am behind on processing new books for our collection!
So start at the end of this list of replies. THANKS!
And the fifth shift:
From "competing with culture" to "leading culture"
Perhaps we have the only ministry in our churches that bring this shift to life in helping churches go beyond just telling people about the needs of today's culture. Book clubs and reading groups give people the opportunity to share their experiences and stories during insightful discussions based on the books they are reading. Both fiction and non-fiction bring this one to life with the potential for spiritual transformation resulting in action and leadership.
What are other ways for library teams to inspire leadership in not only our church culture but also our community culture?
The fourth shift:
From "we hope people give" to "cultivating generous disciples"
This one makes me think about the books on our shelves that make disciples in our churches. These include fiction that include stories where the characters are generous in multiple ways. Great illustrations for helping disciples understand what Scripture teaches us about giving.
Do you have titles to recommend that do so?
The third shift:
From "church happens on Sunday" to "church happens beyond Sunday"
Weekday book clubs or reading groups are strategic ways for us to help our churches make this shift. Just having the library door open during the week for parents to use the library with their children can be a gift to families whether they are members of the church or not.
What are other types of library weekday opportunities?
The second shift:
From "everyone is welcome" to "everyone is known"
This one is huge for all age groups. Have you read Thom Rainer's recent blog? Click: The Silent Exodus of Senior Adults.
How do we apply this shift with our library users as well as those we would love to include among our users.
The first shift:
From "one way communication" to "Two way engagement"
From my perspective and experience, we improve our "customer service" with those who use the library as we play a significant role in helping our churches engage people. Perhaps the library ministry is the only ministry in our churches that is focused on individuals instead of groups. This one raises again the challenge for us to know the names of those who use the library and making time to have a conversation and listen with people.
What would you add to this one?
Ha! Thanks for catching my mistake. These four bullets capture what can result from the 5 shifts. I've edited the heading I wrote for the bullets. I'm going to share my initial ways I see how libraries can help churches make these shifts in separate posts.
Good morning Marlee! I hope that you are having a great day! If he titled it 5 Strategic Shifts to boost momentum at your church in 2026, why are there only 4 bullet points?
Just curious. Thanks for all you do to promote libraries.
Jenn