A vital part of moving forward with any sense of vision for the future is simply coming to grips with our present reality. I’m not inclined to make many changes if I think that things are really just fine. Let’s be honest: if our local congregation is making budget and attendance is holding its own, we can be lulled into the feeling that things are generally okay. At times we may be inclined to ignore the numbers and the trends that they reveal because it’s easier to live in a false sense of security or success.
We’re in a culture where most of the trends are moving the wrong direction. Loyalty for loyalty’s sake is down, the value of denominational ties are down, and faithful/committed church attendance now means twice a month. Add to this the rise of the “nones” (the non-affiliated) and the fact that Millennials make up the largest segment of the “nones,” it’s a much tougher landscape than we’re accustomed to.
Some of the numbers specific to the CGGC are pretty troubling as well.
In the U.S. we’re in decline:
Over a 10-year period (2004-2013) 65% of our churches were in decline/stagnation in worship attendance. If you look at the most recent 4-year period (2010-2013), 80% of our churches were in decline/stagnation in worship attendance.
Nearly one-third of our churches haven’t reported a conversion in the three most recent years (2013, 2012, and 2011).
The average age of our pastors in service is 55 years old (and this is probably a generous estimate due to incomplete data).
I’ll be the first to admit that these metrics probably don’t tell the full story, but they do give us a sense that all is not well.
We need to come to grips with our present reality – things are not as good as we might like to believe. It’s going to be very difficult to grasp a vision of where God is leading unless we can first acknowledge the truth about ourselves.
How much of our time, energy and resources are leveraged toward gathering as opposed to sending/blessing?
How much of our growth has come from the unchurched or de-churched as opposed to just a shuffling of the sheep?
Who are the names of those outside our fellowship that we are loving, serving and blessing in order to bear witness to the reality of Jesus and his kingdom?
Who has been discipled here in the last year and who are those individuals discipling as a result?