This past year has been messy. We have traversed a deep valley of heartbreak and turbulence over the last twelve months, and this journey still has difficult days ahead. In the midst of these trying times, however, we have seen how the kingdom of God continues to expand. God is still on the move, and God’s church continues to be an active participant in God’s movement. The difficulty experienced during the COVID pandemic has also presented the opportunity to conduct, in the words of Dr. Ian Fitzpatrick, a “ministry audit.” Dr. Fitzpatrick, National Director for the Church of the Nazarene in Canada, describes a ministry audit as an opportunity to examine what we have learned during this time that we might not have learned any other way.

What has your church learned during this season? While the answer to that question will be unique to the context of each church, there have been overarching lessons we have all been taught during the last several months. One of those lessons is that God does not need a large budget to advance God’s kingdom. In fact, as we look across the history of the global church, we can see that some of the most transformational kingdom work occurred without significant financial resources.

Yes, God calls each of us to offer up all of our talents, treasure, and time. Yet the movement of the Spirit of God is not restricted by those human resources. But, frankly, money is tight for many of our churches. Overstretched budgets are common, and this past year has only exacerbated that reality. Faced with shrinking budgets, we need to step into the coming months with creativity and lots of prayer.

Astronomers will point out that, at the time of Copernicus’s groundbreaking proposition about the solar system being centered around the sun, there was not much empirical evidence available to support his hypothesis over against the earth-centered (Ptolemaic) theory. In fact, it was likely Copernicus’s personal interest in the sun that allowed him to make such a discovery. His interest in the sun led him to a different answer about the center of our solar system. He had the same information available to him that other astronomers had, but he had a different approach to the problem. That different approach produced a radical recentering of our understanding of the cosmos.

The coming months will be difficult for many of our churches. Knowing this, our approach to the problem of tight finances will be pivotal to our future. As we balance the truth that God is still on the move during this time with the challenging financial realities of our local churches, there are some questions we should consider. Hopefully by asking different questions we, like Copernicus, will find better answers as well. Here are five questions your church should be asking in 2021:

1. What is essential to being the church?

Opening up Scripture, what do you find as the mandate for the church? When you confirm what is biblically essential for being the church, you can ensure that you continue those elements in your local church, even if other programs need to be discontinued.

2. How can your church partner with organizations in the community?

Join with positive movement in your local community. This could be with other churches, nonprofits, or local businesses. Partner on a joint project or help promote another organization’s programming. Treat your community like a parish, seek the betterment of your neighborhood, and remember that your church should not try to be the solitary answer to every need.

 3. How can you reimagine the use of your church property?

– Rethink how you are using your church property—both inside and out! Consider embracing the “grow, don’t mow” mentality by creating community gardening space for your neighborhood. Cultivating community gardens on church property can allow you to work alongside your neighbors as well as offer the potential to host gardening classes. Another bonus? You’ll spend less time and money mowing.

– Consider how you might lease unused or underused building space at accessible rates to local nonprofits or business startups.

– Specifically during this pandemic, provide learning and fun spaces for families with children. This could be providing space and computers for virtual learning or indoor gym space for children to burn off energy with their families in scheduled shifts during the week. One example of this is Front Step, Inc., a Nazarene compassionate ministry center in Philadelphia, which pivoted to hosting virtual learning pods for children in their community in order to provide computers, strong internet signal, and the space to succeed in their virtual schooling.

4. What could be done without a budget?

Not every idea is a good one, but do not allow a lack of funding to keep you from pursuing a God-sized dream in ministry. Instead, focus on what can be accomplished through partnerships and volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of every church, especially right now.

 5. How can you be praying for—and with—your community?

Prayer is essential during normal times. During this season of a pandemic, there is nothing more important than prayer in our churches. Consider new opportunities for communal prayer (both in person and on Zoom) in your church as well as how you can be praying with your geographic community.

As you engage in a ministry audit of your local church, use this opportunity to: ask deep questions, prayerfully discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, and step into the future of the life of your church. Be like Copernicus and seek out different approaches, which will likely produce different results. Those different results are absolutely crucial for your church and your neighborhood. Your community needs your church to address the problems in your neighborhood with the good news of Jesus Christ, both today and in the years to come.