1. Envisioning the Future of Church Life & Ministries (February) 2. Developing Future Directions (March) 3. Designing New Initiatives (May)

Transcription

1 1. Envisioning the Future of Church Life & Ministries (February) 2. Developing Future Directions (March) 3. Designing New Initiatives (May) 1

2 1. The Changing Context: Forces Influencing Church Life & Ministries 2. Interpreting Adaptive Challenges Facing St. Michael & All Angels Church 3. Exploring the Future of Church Life & Ministry through the Four Scenarios from Faith Formation Exploring the Implications of the Four Scenarios for your Particular Ministry and Activities 5. Determining how to Strengthen, Expand, Improve, and/or Reimagine Ministry and Activities 2

3 What are some of the significant Driving Forces affecting individuals, families, communities, and religious congregations today and into the future? Social Cultural Economic Environmental Political Religious 3

4 igeneration ( ) Millennials ( ) Generation X ( ) Baby Boomers ( ) Builders (pre 1946) 4

5 igeneration ( ) Millennials ( ) Generation X ( ) Baby Boomers ( ) Builders (pre 1946) Generational Differences Relationship to Institutions Relationship to Authority Family Relationships Work- Life Balance Communication Style Technology Usage Learning Style Religious Expression Worship Style The 1950s Family The 2010s Family 5

6 A Family Not a Family Married Coupled with Children 99 1 Married Couple without Children Single Parent with Children Unmarried Couple with Children Same- Sex Couple with Children Same- Sex Couple without Children Unmarried Coupled without Children Pew Research, 2011 Increase in age of marriage: median age for first marriage: Men: 29, Women: 26.6 Decline in marriages: 50.5% adults are married today (peak:72% in 1960) About 1 in 4 babies are born to unmarried couples, a rate that has nearly doubled since % of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family (11% in 1960) 6

7 Today more than 51.4 million Americans of all ages or about one in six live in multigenerational households, a more than 10% increase since the start of the Great Recession in The rise in grandparents caring for grandchildren: 7 million grandparents are living with a grandchild an increase of 22% from Approximately 3 million of these children were also being cared for primarily by that grandparent. 20% of Americans claim no religious affiliation 32% of year olds 10% drop in the number of Christians The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion. 7

8 8

9 According to Pew Research, Americans do not generally become more affiliated as they move through the life cycle from young adulthood through marriage, parenting, middle age and retirement. With few exceptions the unaffiliated say they are not looking for a religion that would be right for them. Overwhelmingly, they think that religious organizations are too concerned with money and power, too focused on rules and too involved in politics. 9

10 The number of religiously unaffiliated is growing.... Ø because of Americans who rarely go to services are more willing than in the past to drop their religious attachments altogether. Ø because of generational replacement, the gradual supplanting of older generations by newer ones. Fewer Confirmations Fewer Marriages & Later in Life Fewer First Communions Fewer Baptisms Lower Sunday Worship Fewer Young Families 10

11 Not Religiously Affiliated Spiritual but Not Religious Minimal Engagement with Faith and Community Vibrant Faith & Active Engagement 11

12 ² Mobile devices have fundamentally changed the relationship between information, time, & space. ² Information is now PORTABLE, PARTICIPATORY, & PERSONAL Over 90% of U.S. adults use the internet, ¾ on any given day 72% use social networking sites Over 90% have a cell phone; over 50% have smartphones Over 25% have a tablet computer 2/3 are wireless internet users 12

13 EMBEDDED EMBEDDED SOCIAL NETWORKS 13

14 GROUP- CENTERED SOCIETY 1. Contact within and between groups 2. Group contact 3. Neighborhood community 4. Local Des 5. Bowling leagues 6. Homogeneous Des 7. Somewhat involuntary kin and neighborhood Des NETWORKED INDIVIDUALISM 1. Contact between individuals 2. One- to- one contact 3. MulDple communides 4. Local and distant Des 5. Shi9ing networks of friends who bowl 6. Diversified Des 7. Voluntary friendship Des GROUP- CENTERED SOCIETY 8. Strong social control 9. Broad spectrum of social capital within group 10. Tight boundaries with other groups 11. Organized recreadon groups 12. Public spaces 13. BulleDn boards 14. Focused work unit NETWORKED INDIVIDUALISM 8. Weak social control / shiv to another network 9. Diversified search for specialized social capital 10. Permeable boundaries with other networks 11. ShiVing networks of recreadonal friends 12. Private spaces and online 13. Facebook, TwiYers 14. Networked organized 14

15 GROUPS NETWORKS Church School (Religious) Home Ethnic Culture 15

16 ² Technical problems (even though they may be complex) can be solved with knowledge and procedures already in hand. ² Easy to identify. ² Require change in just one or a few places; often contained within organizational boundaries ² Everyday, people have problems for which they do, in fact, have the necessary know- how and procedures technical problems. ² Adaptive challenges are situations for which solutions lie outside the current way of operation. ² Difficult to identify (easy to deny). People often resist even acknowledging adaptive challenges ² Require experiments, new discoveries, and adjustments from numerous places in the organization. ² Without learning new ways changing attitudes, values, and deep- seated behaviors people cannot make the adaptive leap necessary to thrive in the new environment. ² Calls for changes of heart and mind the transformation of long- standing habits and deeply held assumptions and values. 16

17 1. The solution requires operating in a different way than you do now The problem AND the solution require learning The solution requires some sacrifice of your past ways of working or living The solution requires experimenting before you re sure of the answer The solution will take a long time The challenge connects to people s deeply held values... What are some of the significant challenges facing St. Michael & All Angels Church now and for the next 3-5 years? Viewed through the lens of your ministry 17

18 1. Adaptive leadership is specifically about change than enables the capacity to thrive 2. Successful adaptive changes build on the past rather than jettison it. 3. Organizational adaptation occurs through experimentation. 4. New adaptations significantly displace, reregulate, and rearrange some old DNA. 5. Adaptation takes time. 3. Intervene 2. Interpret 1. Observe 1. Observing events and patterns around you; 2. Interpreting what you are observing (developing multiple hypotheses about what is really going on; and 3. Designing interventions based on the observations & interpretations to address the adaptive challenge you have identified. 18

19 Scenarios are built around critical uncertainties about the external environment. That is, the stories are based on different outcomes of a few key uncertainties that are both most important to the future of faith formation in Christian churches and most uncertain in terms of future outcome. 19

20 4 Scenarios Two Critical Uncertainties 1. Will trends in U.S. culture lead people to become more receptive to organized religion, and in particular Christianity or will trends lead people to become more resistant to organized religion and Christianity? 2. Will people s hunger for and openness to God and the spiritual life increase over the next decade or will people s hunger for and openness to God and the spiritual life decrease. Dominant Cultural Attitude toward Organized Religion Receptive Low High People s Hunger for God and the Spiritual Life Resistant 20

21 4 Scenarios Receptive to Scenario #4 Uncommitted but Participating Organized Religion Scenario #1 Vibrant Faith and Active Engagement Low Hunger for God High Scenario #3 Unaffiliated and Uninterested Resistant to Scenario #2 Spiritual but Not Religious Organized Religion Ø A world in which people of all ages and generations are actively engaged in a Christian church, are spiritually committed, and growing in their faith. People have found their spiritual home within an established Christian tradition and a local faith community that provides ways for all ages and generations to grow in faith, worship God, and live their faith in the world. Ø In most congregations the overwhelming majority of resources, energy, and leadership are directed toward faith formation with people in Scenario #1. 21

22 Ø A world in which people attend church activities, but are not actively engaged in their church community or spiritually committed. They may participate in significant seasonal celebrations and celebrate sacraments and milestone events (marriage, baptism). Some may even send their children to religious education classes. Their spiritual commitment is low and their connection to the church is more social and utilitarian than spiritual. Ø While receptive to an established church, their occasional engagement in church life does not lead them toward spiritual commitment. Ø A world in which people are spiritually hungry and searching for God and the spiritual life, but most likely are not affiliated with organized religion and an established Christian tradition. Ø Some may join a nondenominational Christian church focused on their spiritual needs, while others may find an outlet for their spiritual hunger in small communities of like- minded spiritual seekers, in local or global acts of service, or in online spiritual resources and communities. 22

23 Ø A world in which people experience little need for God and the spiritual life and are not affiliated with organized religion and established Christian churches. Ø The Unaffiliated and Uninterested reject all forms of organized religion and reflect an increasing percentage of the American population, especially among year- olds. Scenario 4 Uncommitted & Participating Scenario 1 Vibrant Faith & Active Engagement Scenario 3 Unaffiliated & Uninterested Scenario 2 Spiritual but Not Religious 23

24 1. Who we are addressing or involving? 2. Ways we are currently responding/involving in our ministry? 3. Ways we could respond to these people more effectively? Scenario #4 Scenario #3 Scenario #1 Scenario #2 Age Group Ministries Worship & Preaching Pastoral Care Parish Life/Welcoming Mission/Outreach Business Development Engagement Scenario #4 Family stewardship activities Seasonal, short- term stewardship experiences (and education) Project- specific $ giving Scenario #1 Holistic stewardship education Family stewardship Preparation & opportunities for ministry in the church and world Encore Generation opportunities Scenario #3 Financial planning workshops in the community Financial mentors from church Message: how church makes a difference in people s lives (in the community) Scenario #2 Financial planning workshops in the community Financial mentors from church Resources for stewardship of time, gifts, creation Message: how church makes a difference in people s lives (in the community) 24

25 Scenario #4 Parent faith formadon at BapDsm & First Communion Parent mentoring / small groups Milestone & church year celebradons VBS, family service, family camp Early childhood programming Online family resource center Scenario #3 Family life center / early childhood center Family events sponsored in the community: movie nights, concerts, children s fesdvals VBS, family camp, family service ParenDng programs & resources Online family resource center Scenario #1 Whole family programs at church Faith pracdces at home (rituals, Bible reading, devodons, service, prayer) Parent faith formadon & mentoring Milestones celebradons VBS, family camp, family service Online family resource center Scenario #2 Family life center / early childhood center Small group family experiences VBS, family camp, family service ParenDng programs & resources Family events in the community Parent faith (e.g., Alpha) Online family resource center Scenario #4 Adult life issues & transitions Re- discovering faith & practice & church engagement Church year feasts/seasons Local service & mission trips Family milestones Intergenerational connections Online faith formation center Scenario #3 Adult life issues & transitions Third Place faith formation Community events (movie nights, concerts, festivals, trips) Local service & mission trips Intergenerational connection in the community Online resource center Scenario #1 Adult life issues & transitions Faith enrichment Bible study Spiritual enrichment Service & mission trips Grandparents as faith formers Intergenerational faith formation Family milestones Online family faith formation center Scenario #2 Adult life issues & transitions Local service & mission trips Spiritual formation & practices Small group experiences Third Place faith formation Grandparent support & resources Intergenerational connections Online resource center 25

26 Ø Local and global Ø Developmental with increasing depth and scope: 1. Introduction: several hours to a full day 2. Short term: multi- day and local 3. Weeklong and national mission trips 4. Global expedition of one or more weeks 26

27 27

28 Step One. Church Leader s Study: Unbinding the Gospel Step Two: All- Church Saturation Study: Unbinding Your Heart: 40 Days of Prayer & Faith Sharing. six- week, church- wide, small group E- vent! pray each day s scripture and prayer exercise and work with a prayer partner study a chapter of the book with their small group worship with sermons, music, and prayers centered on the week s chapter 28

29 Step Three: An Experiment in Prayer and Community: Unbinding Your Soul. a no- obligation experience of substantial spiritual discussion, prayer and community for people who aren t connected with a church church members invite their friends into a four- week small group experience with short study chapters, an individual prayer journal, prayer partner activities, and group exercises. Develop processes that gradually deepen people s relationship with Jesus Christ, their engagement in church life, and their practice of the Christian faith with a special focus on the needs of the spiritual but not religious (Scenario 2) and the uncommitted but participating (Scenario 4.) 29

30 Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Parish Mini- Retreat 101: Catholics Alive! What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? Mini- Retreat 201: Alive and Growing Spiritually! maturing in the Catholic faith Mini- Retreat 301: Alive and Gifted! discerning how to serve God in ministry Mini- Retreat 401: Alive in the World! living as witnesses for Christ, as contagious Catholic Christians Mini- Retreat 501: Alive to Praise God! Catholic worship and the sacraments 30