Understanding God's purpose for the Church in its beginning is essential to avoid missing His plan for its future. From this premise, the author projects five concepts to challenge and remind the Church of today that it is laying the groundwork now for the vitality of the future church.To be effective in serving its community, the future church will need toBe more concerned with direction than statisticsCome to peace with itself as a source of its people's greatest joy as well as greatest frustrationSee evangelization as a process and not an eventLearn to cope with the pace of change in the culture termed 'future shock'Be alert to global issues including hunger, human rights, and war.Kivar.