What Field Are You Playing On?
In Part 1 of this series, we asked the disruptive question: What game is your church actually playing? Because if the main goal is just to “get more people,” that’s one kind of game. And it’s a game the Church can play. BUT, if the goal is to join God’s renewal, that’s an entirely different game.
Now comes the next question: Where is the field?
By “field” we mean the actual space where the life of your church plays out. It’s where the action takes place and where the main focus is. The game you’re playing depends on the field you choose. The games of baseball and basketball have a particular “field” that defines the game. We think the Church also has a defining field.
What game are we really playing? And in what field are we choosing to play it?
“The parish is not just where you live, but where your life joins the unfolding story of God’s renewal among neighbors.”
The Familiar Game
If you’re playing the church growth game, the field is obvious. It’s the stage.
The “scoreboard” measures:
-how compelling the preaching is
-how inspiring the music feels
-whether the parking lot runs smoothly
-or if the kids’ ministry keeps families engaged.
That’s the field. That’s where all the energy, talent, and money go. You can do it brilliantly or you can do it badly. But either way, you’re still playing on the same small field.
And if we’re honest, it’s a field that narrows our imagination until all we can think to measure is how many people show up to watch.
A Different Field Altogether
But if the game isn’t church growth, if the real invitation is joining God’s renewal, then the field changes entirely.
It’s no longer the stage. It’s the neighborhood. We call it a parish —> a geographic area that’s big enough to live much of your life, yet small enough to be known by name, to become a character in the unfolding story of that place.
That field might look different depending on where you are:
In a city: a parish might be a neighborhood, walkable and distinct.
In a suburb: the whole suburb may be your parish.
In a rural town: maybe it’s 50–70 square miles, anchored by a shared center.
But the parish is where the infinite game unfolds.
Why It Matters
Here’s the thing: the field shapes the game. Sure, you can play baseball on a basketball court, but it sure makes it more difficult! Not to mention confusing!
As the Church, if the stage is our field, we’ll always measure success by performance.
But if the neighborhood is our field, the metrics shift entirely.
Success now looks like:
Neighbors knowing one another’s names.
Trust being built block by block.
Stories of hope and healing surfacing in ordinary places.
God’s renewal being tasted in the cracks of everyday life.
That’s an infinite game. The kind where the point isn’t to finish or outcompete, but to keep showing up. To stay faithful. To cultivate belonging and flourishing in a particular place, with particular people.
The Invitation to Discern
So here are the questions worth asking:
What game has your church been playing?
Who decided the boundaries of the field?
What would it look like to discern your parish and play a different game altogether?
What are the challenges to shifting to this perspective?