08/01/2026
# To Serve This Present Age: Can We Be Better Disciples in 2026?
When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, many Black Baptist churches did not worship every Sunday.
Most churches met only once a month. My home church was known as a **third-Sunday church** because our regular worship service was held on the third Sunday of each month.
Many pastors served more than one congregation. A pastor might preach at one church on the first Sunday, another church on the second Sunday, another on the third Sunday, and another on the fourth Sunday.
There were no multiple Sunday services. There was no 8:00 service, 10:00 service, and 11:30 service. There were usually no regular midweek worship services or Bible studies.
The monthly Sunday service was the main gathering of the church.
That was the way many Black Baptist churches operated during that present age.
The third Sunday in August was our annual Homecoming. People who had moved North or to the Midwest would return home to Conyers for that special Sunday. Families reunited, the church was filled, and the entire community came together to worship.
Beginning Monday night after Homecoming and continuing through Friday night, we held revival. A guest preacher would come and preach for the entire week.
At that time, there were no local hotels in Conyers available to Black travelers, so the pastor and the visiting preacher stayed at my grandparents’ house.
Each morning around 10:00, my grandfather would show the pastors how to get to a church member’s home for breakfast. Around 4:00 that afternoon, he would direct them to another member’s home for dinner. Different families shared the responsibility of feeding and caring for the pastors.
During the revival service, someone might bring a box of food to church. When we returned to my grandparents’ house after service, my grandmother, my mother, and my aunt would prepare another meal for the pastors.
School had not yet started, so children and young people could attend revival every night. Many people accepted Christ and joined the church during that week. They would later be baptized outside on the third Sunday in September.
Those were special and meaningful times.
The church was more than a building. It was a community. People opened their homes, shared their food, cared for the preacher, invited their neighbors, and made sacrifices to support the work of the ministry.
Several years ago, I attended a conference in Savannah, Georgia. During one of the sessions, the instructors used M&M’s as an illustration.
They explained that the military wanted to get chocolate to soldiers overseas without it melting. M&M’s were developed with a hard outer shell that helped protect the chocolate.
That gave us the familiar statement:
**“Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”**
The mission was to get chocolate to the soldiers. That mission remained the same.
However, through the years, M&M’s have appeared in different forms. We now have plain M&M’s, peanut M&M’s, mint M&M’s, and many other varieties.
The form changed, but the purpose remained.
That same principle can help us understand the church.
In the old Black church, we used the black hymnbook. It contained hymns written in common meter and short meter. In some congregations, a leader would line out the hymn, one verse at a time, and the people would sing it together.
One of the hymns I remember is **“A Charge to Keep I Have.”**
One line says:
**“To serve this present age,
My calling to fulfill.”**
When our foreparents sang those words in 1956, **1956 was their present age.**
They served God using the methods, schedules, transportation, communication, and resources available to them.
Church met once a month because many pastors served several congregations.
There were no regular midweek services because people had different work responsibilities, transportation was limited, and many families lived in rural communities.
There were no multiple Sunday services because one service met the needs of that congregation and community.
They were not failing to do ministry. They were faithfully serving their present age.
But we are no longer living in 1956.
**In 2026, this is our present age.**
Today, most churches worship every Sunday. Some churches offer more than one service. Many have Bible study, prayer meetings, ministry programs, and other gatherings during the week.
We also have livestreaming, social media, websites, email, text messaging, Zoom, Teams, and other forms of communication that did not exist in 1956.
The question is not whether the old church was right and the present church is wrong.
The question is not whether everything from the past should be discarded.
The question is:
**How can we faithfully serve God and make disciples in the present age in which He has placed us?**
The mission of the church has not changed.
We are still called to preach Jesus Christ.
We are still called to make disciples.
We are still called to welcome strangers.
We are still called to care for the hurting.
We are still called to reach children, young adults, families, and senior citizens.
We are still called to bring people to Christ.
But our methods may need to change.
In the 1950s, revival could last from Monday through Friday because school had not started and many people lived and worked near the church.
In 2026, children may already be back in school. Parents may work long hours. Some people work nights or weekends. Families may travel long distances to work, attend school, or care for relatives.
That does not necessarily mean people no longer love God.
It means the church must prayerfully consider how to reach people in this present age.
Maybe revival will not last five nights.
Maybe Bible study will be offered both in person and online.
Maybe people who cannot attend physically will participate through Zoom, Teams, Facebook, YouTube, or another online platform.
Maybe the church will use short videos, text messages, websites, podcasts, and livestreams to reach people who may never enter the building.
Maybe some churches will continue to have one Sunday service, while others may need more than one.
The form may change, but the mission remains the same.
Just as M&M’s can come in different forms while still delivering chocolate, ministry can take different forms while still delivering the gospel.
We should honor the traditions that brought us this far. We should remember the prayers, sacrifices, hospitality, fellowship, and devotion of those who came before us.
But honoring the past does not mean that we must operate exactly as the church operated in 1956.
Our foreparents did not serve their generation by copying the church of 1856. They used what was available to them to serve the people of their day.
Now it is our responsibility to do the same.
We cannot ask only:
**“How did they do church in 1956?”**
We must also ask:
**“How can we faithfully reach people in 2026?”**
The message does not need to change.
Jesus still saves.
The Bible is still true.
People still need hope.
Families still need prayer.
Communities still need strong churches.
But our schedules, methods, technology, and presentation may need to change so that we can reach the people God has placed before us.
In 1956, that was their present age.
In 2026, this is our present age.
Our foreparents accepted their charge and served their generation.
Now the charge has been placed in our hands.
May we honor their faith, learn from their example, and ask God to help us become better disciples and make better disciples in 2026.
**The mission remains the same, but the method must serve this present age.**
