By Dr. Carlos W. Perkins, 4th Episcopal District
This article emerges from a presentation delivered at the 2026 Power of a Generative Church Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, a gathering sponsored through the Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative and administered by the Reverend Teresa Fry Brown, Ph.D. The conference brought together pastors, scholars, and ministry leaders to explore the role of the church in cultivating hope, justice, generosity, and transformation within communities.
I approach the future of Black faith communities from three interconnected vocations: as Associate Director for Engagement at the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, as Senior Pastor of Bethel Cathedral African Methodist Episcopal Church, and as a public servant in local government. Together, these roles have deepened my understanding of the relationship between faith, generosity, justice, and community transformation. They have also led me to a question that increasingly confronts congregations across the nation: Is our call a call to justice, or merely a call to just us?
This question emerges from Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Luke 4:14–19. Standing in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus declares that the Spirit has anointed him to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, and the proclamation of God’s favor. Before healing the sick or feeding the multitudes, Jesus publicly identifies his ministry with those living on the margins. Luke’s Gospel reminds us that the mission of God is not confined to personal salvation. It is also concerned with communal liberation, human flourishing, and the restoration of right relationships.
For generations, the Black Church has embodied this vision. Long before community development became a philanthropic priority, Black congregations were building schools, establishing mutual aid societies, creating scholarship funds, and providing social services. The Black Church has never been solely a place of worship; it has been a generator of hope, leadership, social capital, and collective action. Its enduring strength has been the ability to transform spiritual conviction into tangible community impact.
Yet the context in which Black congregations now serve is changing rapidly. Churches face declining membership, economic uncertainty, political polarization, institutional distrust, and profound technological disruption. At the same time, communities continue to wrestle with persistent racial inequities, educational disparities, housing challenges, and widening economic gaps. The pressing question is not whether the church will survive. The question is whether it will remain generative—whether it can continue creating life, possibility, and justice in a moment marked by uncertainty.
The future of Black faith communities depends, in part, on their ability to cultivate leaders for transformation. The church has always been a leadership incubator, but this moment requires more than charismatic personalities or institutional managers. It requires leaders who can interpret the signs of the times and respond faithfully to complex challenges. Every generation confronts its own Pharaoh. For previous generations, it was slavery and segregation. For ours, it may be systemic inequality, predatory economic systems, educational inequities, environmental injustice, and declining trust in public institutions. The generative church must prepare disciples who are equipped not only to serve congregations, but also to transform neighborhoods, organizations, and systems.
This work is closely connected to generosity. Research on faith and giving consistently demonstrates that Black Christians often exhibit remarkable generosity despite possessing fewer financial resources than many other populations. Such giving cannot be explained by economics alone. It is rooted in theology, trust, and community. Historically, Black congregations have practiced abundance in contexts of scarcity because they believed that God, rather than circumstance, was their ultimate source.
As churches navigate the future, generosity must be understood as more than institutional maintenance. The central question cannot simply be how to sustain church operations. Instead, congregations must ask how their resources advance God’s mission in the world. Generative churches cultivate transformational givers—people who understand generosity as discipleship and stewardship as an expression of justice. In this framework, giving becomes an act of hope, resistance, and liberation. It reflects a conviction that God’s future is greater than our present limitations.
The generative church must also stand at the intersection of faith, community, and civic life. Throughout history, the Black Church has served as both sanctuary and strategy center, offering spiritual refuge while organizing for social change. This legacy remains essential today. Challenges such as housing affordability, educational opportunity, healthcare access, economic mobility, and environmental sustainability cannot be addressed by any single institution acting alone. Government, philanthropy, business, and faith communities each possess unique strengths. Transformation occurs when these sectors collaborate for the common good.
In a season marked by political anxiety, the church faces additional pressures. Some congregations retreat from public engagement altogether, while others risk becoming captive to partisan agendas. Luke 4 offers a different model. Jesus did not organize his ministry around political parties; he organized it around people—particularly those who were poor, oppressed, and excluded. The church’s responsibility is not to protect ideological interests but to proclaim God’s vision of human dignity and flourishing. A faithful church must be willing to speak truth to power, advocate for vulnerable communities, and remain rooted in the gospel rather than partisan loyalty.
Ultimately, the greatest challenge facing many congregations may not be financial or demographic. It may be theological. Too often, we have lost our capacity to imagine. Luke 4 announces God’s alternative future—a future where liberation replaces oppression, abundance overcomes scarcity, and justice becomes a lived reality. The generative church is called not merely to preach about that future but to embody it.
The question before us remains: Is our call a call to justice or just us? If the church exists only for its own preservation, it ceases to be generative. But if it embraces the liberating mission of Luke 4—cultivating leaders, nurturing generosity, engaging public life, and pursuing justice—it can continue to be what it has always been: a generator of hope, a cultivator of abundance, and a witness to God’s transforming power. The Spirit of the Lord is still upon us. The question is whether we will answer the call. Not a call to just us, but a call to justice.
