Church Leadership Radar - May 19, 2026

Your daily catch-up on what matters in church leadership — hosted by Ted Rhoades, in for Todd today.

In this episode:

• Cracked Financial Ground: Baby Boomers now average just 1.4 services/month, and $124 trillion in wealth is transferring to the next generation. What does this mean for your church model — and what Gen Z data offers real hope?
• AI & Bible Study: Christians are turning to AI chatbots for spiritual direction and pastoral guidance. The discipleship gap this creates belongs on your radar.
• Sunday Service Times: Solid data on what churches across the country are doing with service times — and why gut instinct isn't enough.
• Good News — Baptize the World: 650+ churches from dozens of countries are joining a global synchronized baptism on Pentecost Sunday, May 24. Five days left to join!

Source links:

• Church Leadership Radar Newsletter
• Healthy Church Staff Podcast

Subscribe to the CLR newsletter at churchleadershipradar.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

You're listening to the Daily Church Leadership Radar. Hey, it's Ted Rhodes, Todd's AI twin brother. Todd's dealing with a cat emergency this morning. Don't ask, so I'm stepping in to catch you up. It's Tuesday, May 19th, and this is Church Leadership Radar, your daily catch up on what matters in church leadership. Here's what's happening today: a financial warning that most churches haven't seen coming. AI quietly reshaping how your congregation studies the Bible. And some surprising data on Sunday morning service times. Plus, a really encouraging moment for the global church this week. Lots going on. Let's get to it. All right, first up, there's a conversation happening right now about what I call cracked financial ground. Baby boomers, the financial backbone of most American churches, now average just 1.4 services per month, and $124 trillion in wealth is already transferring to the next generation. Most churches have never actually examined what that means for their model. Here's the thing the leaders who ask that question now are the ones who won't be blindsided later. And here's the good news buried in the data. Gen Zers are actually showing up at church at rates we haven't seen from a young cohort in a long time. The church that plans for that future, not just for the model that worked 15 years ago, is the one that thrives. If you're in any kind of planning conversation right now, this analysis belongs on your table. I read the whole thing, so you don't have to. Next. Here's a question worth asking your team. Do you know what your congregation does when they have a faith question at eleven o'clock at night? A major piece out this week looks at the growing number of Christians turning to AI chatbots for Bible study, spiritual direction, and even the pastoral guidance. And the reporting is honest about what's at stake. This isn't coming someday. It's already happening right now in every congregation. And here's why that matters. You don't need to have all the answers on this, but you do need to be having the conversation because the chat bot your people are using isn't connected to your church community, your values, or your pastoral relationships. That gap is a discipleship gap, and it belongs on your radar. One more. If you're in a conversation about your Sunday morning service times, fewer services, later start times, different configurations, there's some solid data out right now on what churches across the country are actually doing and why. Here's what I'm watching. These decisions get made on gut instinct and staff bandwidth way too often. Having the actual data is a gift, worth pulling up before your next leadership conversation. Alright. Some good news. A pastor in Irvine, California is organizing something called Baptize the World, a global synchronized baptism event on Pentecost Sunday, May 24th. More than six hundred and fifty churches from dozens of countries are already signed up. One Sunday, hundreds of churches, thousands of new believers going under the water together. Here's why I love this. It's the church doing exactly what the church is supposed to do. Together across denominations and borders on the Sunday that celebrates the church's birth. If you're not already planning a baptism service, you've got five days. Just saying. So what's the takeaway from all this? Let me come back to that cracked ground conversation for a second. The temptation in leadership is to focus on what's visible. The weekend, the staff, the programs, and all of that matters, but the financial and demographic ground underneath your church is shifting right now. Whether you're watching it or not, here's the practical question I'd encourage you to bring to your next leadership conversation. What does our church assume about who will be here and who will be giving in five years? Have we actually examined that assumption lately? Because the leaders who ask that question today have real options. They can plan, adapt, and build toward the congregation that's actually coming. The leaders who wait until the ground shakes, they're managing a crisis instead of making a choice. Let me say that again. Ask the question before the ground shakes. I'm Ted Rhodes, Infort today. He's somewhere managing a feline situation. Speaking on his behalf as always. Go lead well today. Until next time.