Amy Schenkel

Good question about the "not near" other CRC churches factor.  These were churches that found themselves in a geographical location where there were not other Reformed churches available.  So, if someone was looking for a church with Reformed theology, they were the only ones in town and therefore saw that growth.

However, in the church planting world (where I do much of my work), I know that one principle of church growth is to plant churches like Starbucks builds coffee shops. Namely, within a mile or so of the nearest CRC church.  With Starbucks it builds brand recognition and easy-access for its customers.  What does proximity do for new churches?  It allows for cooperation and collaboration of resources and community connections.  In the recent work CMI has done with Kingdom Enterprise Zones, we have seen the mission-focused energy that can result when churches build collaboration. 

I wonder if these two models allow for different types of growth?  Does one tend to attract more churched people, while the other one reaches unchurched people more effectively?  This study did not consider the types of people who were growing the church.  That would be another great study.

Harry,

The full report did include this information, but there wasn't room on the blog to include it all (or maybe I just didn't think people would read past it to the other information :).

Here is a quick summary of the strategy and scope of the research:

these churches grew by more than 20% between 2007 and 2012 in either attendance or membership; these churches were more than 10 years old (thereby excluding church plants); these were English-speaking churches.

There were 42 CRC churches that fit these characteristics.  Of these, 25 were available for phone interviews (a few declined to be interviewed; some pastors were on sabbatical or otherwise unavailable at this time; all others were attempted at least 4 times).  This sample did reach a saturation point, when no new or relevant information was being presented.

The churches interviewed were diverse.  From Port. St. Lucie, FL to British Columbia, they were located all over the United States and Canada in cities, suburbs, and rural communities. These churches were also diverse in their theological standing, from conservative (for example, avoiding the women in office issue) to liberal (churches wrestling with how to handle homosexual marriages, for example).  The churches also varied in size from 50 to almost 500 members.

I promised the pastors I interviewed that I would not quote them directly, so they remain anonymous throughout the report. 

I hope this helps!

Harry,

I can see your point about the tenderness with which we have to address the role of the pastor in a growing or a declining church situation.  This research was done not in the spirit of finding someone to blame, but rather to look for the various factors that resulted in growth.  These were visionary leaders who were willing to make couragous decisions, even when that was hard to do.  It is not the only factor in the church's growth, but it was one of the common factors I found. And, if that is true, what can we do as a denomination to strengthen the leadership capacity of our pastors?  Just a generation ago our pastors were not also expected to be visionary leaders-they were expected to fill pastoral roles only.  So how should our denominational resourcing and education help prepare pastors to fill these new expectations?

Of course, every situation is different.  These are common themes that emerged from these interviews.  Not every church owned every factor, and so we must learn from it what we can but not over-adopt it for every situation.

Good point, Martin.

One article I was reading by a church growth specialist lately said that the average regular church attender in the USA today only attends church twice a month.  He suggested that we count attendance by the month instead of by the Sunday in order to reflect this change in what attending 'regularly' means.  Good food for thought (and somewhat encouraging when churches like ours have a low attendance weekend for no particular reason).

Aaron,

I would email Jerry Hollemans (Home Missions Regional Leader)- he was the one who gave us the presentation about this church with multiple missional communities.  He'd love to connect you, I'm sure!

Thanks for engaging the issue, James. 

Since you speak of recognizing the 'facts fo each organization,' I wonder why we count certain facts and not others?  We currently count how many people are members, and how many people attend Sunday worship.  I think these are important numbers and the reflect important things about a church body.  I also think there are other facts that should count: the number of persons who attend a small group but not Sunday worship, the persons who have committed to a missional community but are uncomfortable with signing their name to a membership statement (which is pretty common with people who've had bad experiences with church in the past.)  I wonder if we could count these facts too?

One reason I think these facts also count is that they reflect the work of the church and of the pastor.  If these numbers don't count, how does that influence a council's evaluation of whether the pastor is doing his or her job?  If these numbers aren't valued in the larger denomination, what would encourage a congregation to seek out new and creative ways to develop meaningful dispcipling relationships with unchurched persons?
 

Mostly I'm wondering how we can accuratly reflect the work of the church in today's changing culture and the ways the church is connecting to that culture. 

I'd be more than happy to provide the full report to anyone who emails me: [email protected]

Thanks for this story, Mary!

I think we can all learn a lot from children about not letting inhibitions get in the way of simply being present with the community around us.  I'm sure your daughter's greetings brought joy to the lives of those she passed- oh, that we could say the same for each of us!

Scott,

Thanks for taking the time to share about this ministry opportunity with this audience.  I've heard of other organized initiatives to be a 'ministry of presence' in a particular neighborhood, like Move In, but this is my first time hearing about the Community of Celebration.

You make a good point- that being present isn't just about being present in our neighborhoods with the human beings there---it is also about recognizing God's presence in that place.  And, as we have one ear to our neighbor, we have one ear to the Holy Spirit and the nudgings we are given.  May we learn to hear that voice, and to discern it from our own, so that we do take advantage of the moments we are given to share God's truth of the gospel!