TAUGHT BY: REV. CHARLES EDWARD CLARK, JR., DMIN
Luke 9:59-62 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Matt 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark 16:15-20 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
The power of the church to draw nonbelievers has been diluted by a loss of focus on the things that Christ directed the church to do: Fundraising Club mentality Church buildings have become top priority We have set up impossible standards We have Field of Dreams mentality Activities and programs have replaced our concentration on the word
2 Cor 5:17-20 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Acts 5:42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
What is Going on with the Church in America? The United States Census Bureau Records give some startling statistics, backed up by denominational reports and the Assemblies of God U.S. Missions: Every year more than 4000 churches close their doors compared to just over 1000 new church starts!
There were about 4,500 new churches started between 1990 and 2000, with a twenty year average of nearly 1000 a year. Every year, 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity. This translates into the realization that people are leaving the church. From our research, we have found that they are leaving as hurting and wounded victims-of some kind of abuse, disillusionment, or just plain neglect!
From 1990 to 2000, the combined membership of all Protestant denominations in the USA declined by almost 5 million members (9.5 percent), while the US population increased by 24 million (11 percent). At the turn of the last century (1900), there was a ratio of 27 churches per 10,000 people, as compared to the close of this century (2000) where we have 11 churches per 10,000 people in America! What has happened?
The United States now ranks third (3 rd ) following China and India in the number of people who are not professing Christians; in other words, the U.S. is becoming an ever increasing "un-reached people group. Half of all churches in the US did not add any new members to their ranks in the last two years. So, why do they leave-besides because of death? Why are they not coming?
Given the declining numbers and closures of Churches as compared to new church starts, there should have been over 38,000 new churches commissioned to keep up with the population growth.
More Startling Data Between 1992 and 2002, 77% to 87% (160 million in 1992) of Americans identified themselves as Christians in most studies. However, what constitutes a Christian or a churchgoer is the question. One study that I did between 1992 and 2002 had surprising results. I found that church attendance may be half what those survey results stated.
Many polls have indicated that the percentage of people who regularly attend a church service in the United States is around 40% to 50%, 20% in Canada, and 8% or less in Europe. But, when we started to count people from denominational reports and compare to census data and University research data, the numbers that were originally declared dropped by half!
22% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1992, including Orthodox, Evangelical, or Protestant. (The reason why the other research is variant is due to how they ask the questions. I sought frequency over just attending. I deem frequency as at least 2 times a month as opposed to two to three times a year indicated by other statistical research.)
20.5% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1995 19% of Americans "frequently" attended church in 1999 18.0% of Americans "frequently" attended in church in 2002
Now, by extrapolating the data and doing some statistical evaluation and adding some hope for revival, we can see the figures drop to 15% of Americans in attendance at a church by 2025, and a further drop to 11% or 12 % in 2050.
Soon, we can catch up with Europe, which is currently "enjoying" two to four percent of its population in regular Church attendance. By the time these predictions come to pass, Europe may have no significant Church presence at all.
ALL CHURCHES ARE NOT IN DECLINE There is a lot of conversation around this area about certain churches and how they are growing but that conversation is mainly pushed by churches that are declining. What s the difference? The church of the times must keep up with the times
Peter de la Bastide The Archdiocese of Port of Spain The Church has failed keep up with the changes to the world brought about by economic globalisation, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton told the synod on the New Evangelisation last Thursday. "The global economy has changed the world in which we try to preach the gospel, and that global economy does not share or recognise many of our gospel values,"
Bishop Kieran Conry said in his intervention in the synod, taking place in Rome this month. "The crisis facing the Church may result from our inability to recognise what has been happening, or address it sooner. We may have been too complacent. It is now a matter of urgency."
In his 1899 book entitled Why Men Do Not Go To Church Courtland Myers, Pastor of Baptist Temple Church in Brooklyn, NY faults the church for not keeping up with the times. The church for the times must meet the needs of the times. It must be of the Columbus spirit, and, with consecrated determination, discover the new world
He challenges the church to keep the same truth but to change methods to meet the demands of the day.
Keep the same truth but change the methods to meet the demands of the day. Most declining churches are continuing to operate using a model that is 50-100 or more years old. The challenge for the 21 st century church is to change how we do, not what we do (i.e. keep the message but deliver it with new methods)
Many in the church world have asked the question Why is the church in decline? is a research study by Eric Geiger and Thom Rainer that asks that same question by comparing thriving churches to declining churches
They found that the healthiest churches in America tended to have a simple process for making disciples. They had clarity about the process. They moved Christians intentionally through the process. They were focused on the elements of the process. And they aligned their entire congregation to this process. The simple church was discovered.
So as we begin our journey into the world of Keep your eyes on the words at the beginning of each chapter. Four simple words: Clarity Movement Alignment Focus.
Those four words will speak volumes before we conclude the book. After hundreds of consultations with local churches and a significant research project, we have concluded that church leaders need to simplify.
Questions we must ask ourselves: Are the people in his church being transformed? Is this church making real disciples, the kind of disciples Jesus made? Or is everyone just busy? Rainer, Thom. S.; Eric Geiger. (p. 7). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Ironically people are hungry for simple because the world has become much more complex. The vibrant churches were much more simple than the comparison churches. The difference was so big that the probability of the results occurring with one church by chance is less than one in a thousand. Statistical people call this a relationship at the.001 level. Rainer, Thom. S.; Eric Geiger. (p. 8). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
When a researcher finds a relationship at the.05 level, he calls his friends and brags. He knows he has found something worthwhile. When a researcher finds something at the.01 level, he calls his publicist and prepares to write. Finding something at the.001 level does not happen often. It's a big deal. If you're a stats person, it is "highly significant." Rainer, Thom. S.; Eric Geiger. (p. 14). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Simple churches are consumed with the call to make disciples, they have implemented a simple design for church ministry. They have designed a simple process to reach and mature people. Thus, these churches are getting people's attention and commitment. Rainer, Thom. S.; Eric Geiger. (p. 15). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Matt 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jews had been burdened down with the Mosaic Law and the rules imposed by the Priest and Levites and Jesus offers them a simpler way to connect with God
In the modern day church we have burdened people with many rules and regulations that are to prove that they are believers and the consequence is that we are losing their attention because they feel that they cannot live up to the standards. John 14:16-26 It is the job of the Holy Spirit