1 Corinthians 8: 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.
Our denomination has taken a severe battering over the last year. In 2005, our denominational membership declined by over 48,000 people. Sadly, it is a record amount for any one year in recent times and doesn't bode well for the future. Since 1995, the denomination has lost 13% of its membership. At Erin, we have grown by 14%, which means that we are 27% ahead of national trends.
Now I know that you can make statistics mean anything, but when the difference is over 25%, it must mean that we are doing something different, more positive and more relevant than the national church. Personally, I think it's because we truly love God here at Erin, which means that we are known by Him and blessed by Him. I'm not so sure about the denomination.
I'm going to a conference next week in Atlanta where pastors from growing churches in the denomination are going to brainstorm ideas and develop strategies that may enable us to turn things around. I don't want to see the denomination decline. Presbyterians traditionally produce great thinkers and spiritual leaders who enhance, edify and empower their communities to spread the gospel, support missions, and serve Christ. If our church can be part of a new movement that will stop our national membership declining, then I want Erin to be actively doing its share.
If God is blessing us with growth, then we must be doing something right that declining Presbyterian churches around us can benefit from. Preaching the Gospel, praising God's Name, and professing Christ as Savior are at the heart of everything we do. If we can encourage other
Presbyterians to do the same, perhaps this national decline will reverse and God will multiply all our churches.
Prayer: Father God, forgive us for failing to grow and for fighting amongst ourselves. Pardon us for forgetting who we are and to Whom we belong. Help us to cast aside needless divisions and heedless rivalries. Create within us a clean heart, so that we may serve You faithfully and love You sincerely. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.
1 comment:
Dear Denis,
Thank you for your comments. I hear what you are saying and offer several things that may work.
a) Think about changing your liturgy, but not necessarily the music. At Erin, we have evolved from the usual PCUSA Book of Order stuff to a highly responsive form. This means that the congregation are engaged in worship all of the time. After I write out the weekly worship service, I put it on the Internet. You can find it on the pastors' resource link below.
Sky Pilots - Resources for Busy Pastors
http://hometown.aol.com/traqair/Index.html
Pastors from all over the world bookmark the page and use the liturgy as a template to write their own. The liturgy may be freely copied by anyone.
Ever since we started using this liturgy, which includes special healing prayers, our average worship attendance has gone up from 124 to 176. People participate as Prayer Guides and Scripture Readers during the service.
b) Your computer could be your best ally in strengthening the church and bringing about growth. I write a daily devotional each day and send it out to our church members and session elders. It's normally the first thing I do at my desk in the morning. The "Stop the Rot" blog that you responded to is one of those daily devotionals. If you wish, you can sign up to receive these dailies by going to the church's website (www.erinpresbyterian.org) and try it for a while to see what it looks like. Other ministers that I know have tried this and then they have started to write their own. The feedback that you get from such an online ministry is amazing and sometimes your devotions are sent around the world. When I've time, I also record them.
c) I teach a Sunday School class and a midweek evening Bible Study. You perhaps do the same. I did the Purpose Drive Life for forty weeks; I did a ten week one on a book called "Healing is Choice"; I also taught a 13-week course on Islam which drew in a lot of people from outside of our church.
d) I also do online studies for the congregation. These are about a page long and take fifteen minutes to complete. Earlier this year, we did C.S.Lewis' book "Mere Christianity", which over 70 people signed up to take online. This Fall, we're going to tackle another of his books, "The Problem of Pain."
Using your computer to connect with church members builds up a thirst for Christian Education, which I believe is the foundation of Church Growth. If I can help you in anyway to develop these kinds of ministries, please ask. We're all in this together, serving God's people and building His Kingdom.
God bless you.
John Stuart
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