Rahel Mwitula Williams serves as the Director of Innovation and Ideas within the ELCA churchwide organization.
This year marks two years in my role as the ELCA Director of Innovation and Ideas. While I’d love to say I’ve stopped getting this question, the most persistent question remains: What do you do again? The question persists no matter how many conversations I have with partners, colleagues, and friends. So, I’ve decided to reflect on it in this blog post.
When people hear “innovation,” most think of tech startups, Silicon Valley, or the latest app. Rarely does the term conjure up images of church pews, liturgy, “churpreneurs” (church entrepreneurs), or communion wafers (seriously, who decided we should use those?). Yet, here we are, talking about innovation in the ELCA.
Don’t worry—no one’s in a lab tinkering with prototypes for “God 2.0.” The ELCA isn’t trying to “upgrade” Jesus. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Instead, at the ELCA Innovation Lab, we focus on how we experience, communicate, and share the unchanging message of God’s love in ways that adapt to who we are, where we live, and how we see the world.
For centuries, the Christian church has communicated the Gospel in ways that reflect the times and cultures of its people—because that’s what humans do. Luther’s 95 Theses? It was the printing press that made it possible for people to access the Bible in their own language—an innovation that brought both tears of joy and torches of outrage.
People encounter God in deeply personal ways, shaped by their cultural contexts, identities, and experiences. The ELCA understands that innovation doesn’t mean changing God; it means rethinking how we connect with God and one another in an ever-evolving world.
We know that the Gospel doesn’t change. The message remains one of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. However, we also know that how we communicate that message must be as dynamic as the people we are called to serve.
Our approach to innovation isn’t about marketing gimmicks or trendy buzzwords. It’s about recognizing that God meets us where we are—whether that’s in a small rural congregation, a city coffee shop turned worship space, a barbershop, a community center, an ecumenical Christmas cantata, or even a neurodivergent choir.
It’s about asking the question: What does it mean to create spaces where God’s presence feels tangible, accessible, and life-changing?
Innovation isn’t about manufacturing cookie-cutter experiences of faith. It means truly listening to people’s stories, contexts, and needs. It means asking, How can we make room for God to meet you where you are? God isn’t confined to steeples and Sunday mornings; God is present in the messy, beautiful complexity of our lives.
Innovation isn’t about losing the sacred; it’s about making the sacred relevant. It’s about embracing creativity and laughter because a joyful God delights in our joy.
The Bottom Line: Jesus Doesn’t Need Rebranding. The message of love, sacrifice, and redemption is timeless. How we carry that message into a world searching for hope, connection, and belonging does need rethinking.
The ELCA’s unique ability to innovate lies in its commitment to remaining rooted in tradition while staying agile enough to adapt to the world as it is. God is not a distant relic but a living, present reality, and the work of innovation in the church is to help people realize that.
So, no, we’re not prototyping a new God. But we are reimagining what it means to encounter the God who has always been here—in the beginning. And in a constantly evolving world, that’s an innovation worth celebrating.
Then, let’s reimagine the future of faith together! Contact the ELCA Innovation Lab to explore meaningful ways to collaborate, dream boldly, and shape new expressions of ministry.
Is your synod, church, or community ready and willing to try something new? Let’s connect (Lab@elca.org) and create something new!