by: Rev. Cameron Trimble
Old Walle United Methodist Church sits at the edge of town, just past the train tracks and across from the last working mill. The congregation has been around for over 100 years. Its red brick sanctuary has hosted baptisms and funerals, potlucks and protests, choir rehearsals and quiet prayers through world wars, civil rights marches, and economic upheaval.
Today, it’s home to about 250 members—some whose families have been there for generations, and some who arrived more recently, drawn by the warmth of the welcome and the hope of something deeper.
But like many congregations across the country, Old Walle found itself asking a hard question:
Not “How do we save our church?” but “What will the future need from a congregation like ours?”
That one shift in framing opened a floodgate of imagination, courage, and clarity. And it led them to call Convergence.
Enter the Futures Lab
In collaboration with our consulting team, Old Walle hosted a Futures Lab—a dynamic, guided process designed to help congregations explore the forces shaping our world and faithfully reimagine their role within it. Together, they considered questions like:
- What cultural, political, spiritual, and ecological changes are coming over the next decade?
- What assumptions are we holding that no longer serve us?
- What spiritual needs will people be carrying into the future?
- What must we let go of to make room for what is emerging?
Through stories, exercises, data, and discernment, the Futures Lab didn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it invited better questions—and gave the congregation a common language for their next steps.
The shift was subtle but powerful. Members stopped asking, “How do we get more people in the pews?” and started asking, “How do we become a space of healing, justice, and spiritual resilience in a time of collapse and change?”
Strategic Planning with Soul
From the Futures Lab, Old Walle moved into strategic planning—but not the old-fashioned kind with dusty three-ring binders and a laundry list of to-dos.
Instead, Convergence guided them through a spiritually grounded, community-informed process that aligned their future vision with practical steps:
- Reimagining their physical space as a community hub for justice and art.
- Investing in digital ministry that actually felt relational.
- Training their leadership in healthy communication and conflict transformation.
- Developing mutual aid networks for vulnerable neighbors.
- Launching a new team to nurture spiritual depth in small groups and gatherings.
Each action was rooted in a clear sense of purpose—not just about survival, but about service.
The Outcome? Hope. Clarity. Energy.
Old Walle didn’t fix everything overnight. But they no longer felt stuck. They felt equipped.
And most importantly, they felt free from the pressure to copy what worked for someone else. Their plan wasn’t a template. It was theirs—rooted in their values, shaped by their people, and responsive to the world around them.
As one leader put it, “This process didn’t just help us plan for the future. It helped us fall in love with the future again.”
At Convergence, we believe that congregations still have a vital role to play in shaping what’s next. But the question is no longer, “How do we keep the institution going?” It’s “What will the world need from us next?”
If your congregation is ready to ask that question—and to build a courageous, compassionate, Spirit-led path forward—we’d be honored to walk with you.
Let’s imagine the future together.