Posts

Chapter Ten

Image
  Jeff's experiment What does “Breaking the 150/200 Barrier” look like in practice? How do you find those who have “Broken the 150/200 Barrier”? Yearbooks, that's how. Good news and bad news . . . • Between 1990 & 2000, almost 20% of Disciples churches showed meaningful growth. Looking specifically at churches already bigger than 85 average worship attendance (AWA) which grew to 150 AWA or larger, I found about half a dozen each in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and a few other regions. • Between 2000 & the present, I found . . . None. Zero. • “The In-Between Church” was written in 1997; Alice Mann’s work was valid. Good news within the bad news • There ARE growing churches out there . . . However. • Since 2000, if a church has shown any amount of significant growth, one of three things (or two, or all three) are true:   + It’s a New Church Plant   + They built a new worship center/sanctuary ...
1 comment
Read more

Chapter Nine

Image
Let's review: • Our wider context in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and among churches generally in the United States, is one of decline. • There are faith groups with slower current rates of decline, but we are all under pressure, with some communions shrinking at an alarming rate. • The Christian Church in Ohio is shrinking at an alarming rate, as are Protestant mainline/traditional churches across Licking County. • The only apparent growth currently is in contemporary style worship. [next slide] • There is a great deal of literature and advice out there about the church life “150/200 barrier” – it is a common & widely understood challenge around changing the culture of a congregation. • The pastoral or family-style church of 150 and less is more directly relational & personal; to get to and above 200 a Sunday requires a church become more program-centered & managerial. • Newark Central has been above 200 average Sunday attend...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chapter Eight

Image
"Look to the fruit"   ~ Beth Moore +    +    + “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.   For   every tree is known by its own fruit. For  men  do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.   A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good..."  ~ Luke 6:43-45 (NKJV) +    +    + +    +    + What is Newark Central known for in Licking County? - Medical Loan Closet - Ramp Ministry - Mission Teams (since 1993, starting with youth; since 2004, adults annually or more often) - Salvation Army dinners - Salvation Army partnership & service more generally - Licking County Coalition for Housing - Licking County Coalition of Care "Look to the fruit"   ~ Beth Moore Is this congregation fruitful? The answer is YES . The question then is one of sustainability.
Post a Comment
Read more

Chapter Seven

So we have two questions, in a general and a specific to our congregation form: can we have effective congregations without full-time clergy on staff, and is our future viable as a congregation in the 150-200 AWA niche? I have a confident "Yes" to offer on both counts. I also think our future at Newark Central is MORE than just being a congregation with two worship services and 200 or so a Sunday in attendance. This is where the practical and the theological can constructively intersect. I read the following link two years ago and thought "he understands our situation very, very well!" Both for Newark Central and Ohio Disciples more generally. This brother in Christ is speaking to the challenges being faced right now in the United Methodist Church, but his "Chapter One" (which is not as long as a standard book chapter at all) has great relevance to our current circumstances at Newark Central: https://peopleneedjesus.net/2016/09/20...
Post a Comment
Read more