Why Prophetic Imagination and Hope Matter as We Head into 2026
As we move toward 2026, it’s almost redundant to begin with “in times of unprecedented change.” People already feel it. The acceleration of AI, rising polarization and mistrust, economic anxiety, climate disruption, and deepening loneliness and mental health strain are not abstract trends (check out our Navigating the Future Report on the Age of Instability). They are shaping congregations, teams, and communities in real time. The last relfection highlighted three questions for Christian leaders to consider for the year 2026. We encourage you to engage with that here.
In December, I (Joel Murphy) spoke with a pastor from an Atlantic Canadian church. We were discussing our Futuring Hub research on the compound driver of Strained Presence (the sense that leaders and communities are stretched thin emotionally, relationally, and spiritually). He was using the research to help shape a sermon series, and we had a rich conversation about what questions and approaches would be relevant and applicable in his local context.
At one point, he smiled and said, “You have a pretty fun job.”
I agree, however, what I enjoy most about futures work is the permission it gives to faithfully imagine. To practice hope with creativity, discernment, and courage. To ask not only what is changing, but what could be possible.
This is not a novel insight within futures studies. Scholars and practitioners have long emphasized that futures thinking is not primarily about prediction but about expanding our capacity to imagine alternatives. As futurist Jim Dator famously noted, “The future cannot be predicted, but alternative futures can be imagined.” Similarly, UNESCO’s Futures Literacy framework highlights imagination as a core human capability, one that helps individuals and communities move beyond reactive fear and engage the future with intention.
As we settle into 2026, the capacity for hopeful, prophet futures thinking seems more necessary than ever. Many leaders I speak with feel caught between two unhelpful postures: resigned uncertainty on one hand, and a kind of exhausted normalization on the other. Resigned uncertainty tells us that nothing can change. Normalization tells us that things are difficult, but we simply need to endure. Both responses narrow our sense of agency.
What if, instead, we adopted a prophetic imaginative and hopeful posture, one that takes our context seriously while trusting that the future ultimately belongs to God?
Christian hope is not denial, and it is not passive optimism. It is a disciplined refusal to believe that the future is closed. It is the conviction that God is still at work (often beyond our sight) and that faithful leadership includes learning to see, name, and participate in what God might be bringing to life. Jürgen Moltmann emphasizes that hope is not resignation to the status quo, but a way of living in participation with God’s future breaking into the present.
If that’s true, then imagination is not optional. It is part of what it means to lead faithfully in a disrupted world.
Conclusion and Practical next step
To help leaders make sense of what shifted in 2025, and to support hopeful, grounded imagination as we head into 2026, the Futuring Hub has published an Interpretive Foresight Report of 2025 that highlights key signals, patterns, and implications from our work over the past year.
Download the report and use it with your team, board, or ministry leaders as a starting point for reflection: What changed? What is emerging? What might faithfulness require next?
At the MacRae Centre for Christian Faith and Culture, we seek to thoughtfully and critically engage the intersection of Christian faith, the church, theological education, and the broader cultural landscape. If these questions spark reflection (or raise new ones) we’d be glad to hear from you. Please reach out to Joel Murphy at joel.murphy@acadiau.ca to share your thoughts, responses, or questions.
