Dear Friends

 

Greetings in the name of Jesus!  I am part of a clergy book study group that recently finished discussing De-sizing the Church by Karl Vaters.   In it he critiques the church growth movement with the aim of getting pastors and church leaders to begin looking differently at attendance numbers.  “On any given Sunday, even the smaller, simplest church service juggles an amazing array of complex issues.  But too often we reduce this beautiful multi-layered gathering … to one overly simplistic metric. Namely, how many people showed up!” (De-Sizing the Church pp. 184-185)

 

Rather than focusing on what we can see, the number of worship attenders in the pews, there are other things to consider.  For instance, we have a healthy number of online worshipers each week.  Beyond those numbers, we also must think about how people’s lives were impacted for Christ through the worship service.  It is important to consider the quality of biblical teaching, the impact on spiritual growth for those participating and if we leave better prepared to live for Jesus.

 

Moving away from numbers as the major indicator of church vitality is a difficult shift to make.  It takes work to think about less tangible benchmarks while not forgetting numbers altogether.  It is healthy for us to move away from chasing pre-pandemic figures or numbers from a golden age to appreciating what God is doing presently in our church. 

 

In fact, when we thank God for what has been accomplished in the past and what the Lord is doing today, we are better prepared for faithful ministry in the future.  Even in the face of current challenges, I believe that God has more in store for us.  I am more convinced than ever that the way forward is found through the power of prayer. 

 

During Lent, many of us participated in a 28-day experiment using Dynamite Prayer by Rosario Picardo and Sue Nilson Kibbey.  We were introduced to the concept of Breakthrough Prayer. I would like all of us to spend the summer praying together this prayer: 

 

Almighty God, break through and open doors to your new hopes, dreams and possibilities for Bakerstown UMC and in our individual lives… and as you do, we will faithfully surrender and follow Christ onto the open road of your new and unknown future.  Amen.

 

I believe this is something all of us can do regardless of where we might be or what we are experiencing.  I am looking forward to hearing about how God has worked in your life through this prayer.  I can’t wait to see what God does in our church as we pray together.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Keith