church vitality and faithful discipleship in difficult times david schoen evangelism ministry team...
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Church Vitality and Faithful Discipleship in Difficult Times
David SchoenEvangelism Ministry Team
Local Church MinistriesUnited Church of Christ
Including material used with permission from Rick Morse, V.P. New Church Ministry, Christian Church (DOC)Church Extension © 2007All rights reserved
IT‘S A WHOLE NEW WORLDTaxes done in India
McDonalds order taken 2 states away
Hundreds of marketing choices in any area
Instant communication
44% of Christians change traditions/denominations
60-80% Unchurched
Result of Karl Fisch’s, Colorado high school teacher, study on this rapid change
Result of Karl Fisch’s, Colorado high school teacher, study on this rapid change
So how much have things changed?
So how much have things changed?
Churches are stressed today: Sustainability levels Generational
Challenges Birth rates Numerous cultural
factors
What does it allmean to the Church?
Sustainability Levels
1930: 30 AWA 2000: 130 AWA
Factors leading to growing sustainability factor: Health Insurance & other
benefits Higher cost of construction Utility costs Lack of volunteers BASICALLY
EVERYTHING
More generations today than ever…
Gen Z (0-6) Millennials (7-26) Survivors (27-43) Boomers (44-62) Silents (63-80) Builders (81+)
Each generation has unique events that formed it, and a different view of life.
Dominant values and behaviors of older boomers and older groups
Whatever is right for the group is right for me Appreciate sameness (i.e. Traditional liturgy) Committee structures that are tried and true Deferred pleasure until you have what you need
to make the purchase Spirituality of place Organize as a group to form a block (tenacious
about position) Circle the wagons; get people on your team to
protect what’s important Get it done! 35% of the US
Population
Dominant behaviors of young boomers and younger groups:
Ask first, what is good for the individual Individualized style and differentiation Appreciate Difference/multiple choices Trained to look for segments of population so that
one size never fits all See themselves as the correctors of the previous
generations Spirituality of journey…find spiritual insight
wherever they are and in relationship, not primarily place
Tribal65% of the US Population
Churches didn’t use to worry about generations…
Founders
Their children
Grandchildren & families
A few transplants
Stephen Compton
Many Churches have Lost a generation or 2:
Churches do not anticipate loosing youth…(even though that has been the pattern for 40 years)
Young adults report: Relocation after college or school Difficulty in assimilation because
church style IF they visit—little generational
affinity Most mainline youth become
unchurched
Roof and McKinney
Another part of the issue is “membership orientation”
Pay dues…sign line EXPECT care, access, privilege,
control, service by staff…etc. Loses vision for a mission that
can be characterized by God’s love in Christ for the world.
It is Exclusive The post-modern world has little
interest in membership organizations
POWER SURGE, Michael Foss
The result is aging congregations
While the younger cohort equals 65% of the population, they are only on average about 30% of existing congregations
Growing Gaps in understanding
Age of Protestant Populations 18-29 30–49 50-64 65+
Total Population 20 39 25 16Total Protestants 17 38 26 20Nondenom Charismatic Churches 18 54 22 6Nondenom Evangelical Churches 19 51 22 8 Church of God in Christ 29 33 28 10Assemblies of God 14 41 33 12 American Baptist Churches 18 36 23 23 Southern Baptist Convention 13 37 27 22 African Methodist Episcopal 14 31 30 25 United Methodist Church 11 34 29 26 Ev. Lutheran Church of America 8 36 29 27 Disciples of Christ 10 33 21 35 Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod 11 32 31 26 Presbyterian Church in America 12 29 32 27 Episcopal Church in the USA 11 29 34 25 Presbyterian Church USA 8 31 30 32 United Church of Christ 11 27 34 28 Anglican Church 7 26 33 35
Birth Rates:
Since “the pill” Anglo birth rates dropping 1960 24/1000 2000 13/1000 2002 11.7
Mainline Anglos have a very low birth-rate due to aging populations VERY Little Biological Growth!
There has been significant change in our racial-ethnic population
Racial ethnic composition of most neighborhoods has changed since 1960
Many congregations have little or no affinity with their neighbors
Racial ethnic growth must be recognized
Ethnic growth: In the next 50 years the
US Pop. Will grow by 50%. 90% of that growth will be people of color
In 2000, Hispanics became the largest racial ethnic minority
The US has the 3rd largest Spanish speaking population
By 2050 there will be no majority racial group
By 2100 Hispanics will be the largest group
Did you know?
More people of African descent live in America than any country except Nigeria
More Cubans live in Miami except than in Havana
In the 90’s the Asian population grew by 107%, Hispanics by 38%, Native Americans by 38% while the general population grew by just 6%!
Racial Ethnic Birth Rates:
African Am. 16.1 Native Am. 13.8 Asian Pac. I. 16.5 Hispanic 22.6 (Anglo 11.7)
Per 1000
Most future growth will be in Racial Ethnic congregations
There is also a shifting attitude towards “organized” religion
65% of the US population cannot remember a time when clergy were respected.
Denominational loyalty means nothing to most people.
The average person believes that no particular religion has claim to truth.
Shifting attitudes towards faith
9.2% 9.1% 9.0%
3.9%3.4% 3.1%
7.2%6.2%
5.5%
20.4%
18.7%17.7%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
Evangelical Mainline Catholic Total
1990, 2000 & 2004 Percentage of the Population Attending a Christian Church on Any Given Weekend
1990
2000
2004
•Since 1991 adult population in the US grew by 15%.•During that same period the unchurched population grew by 92%! 75 million US adults do not attend church 'Unchurched' Americans say church is 'full of hypocrites' consider Christianity to be more about organized religion than about loving God and people, …“unchristian”.
Unchurched USA
Mr. Bean Goes to Church
New Generations – Outsiders to Christian Faith
Age % Outsiders Populationto Christianity
61+ 23% 12 Million 42-60 27% 21 Million 18-41 37% 34 Million 16-29 40% 24 Million
44 percent -- agreed that "Christians get on my nerves.“
Vast majority of young non-Christians view Christianity as anti-gay, judgmental hypocritical, unwelcoming, too political, out of touch.
But 78 percent said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to tell them about his or her Christian beliefs.Almost three-quarters -- 72 percent -- agreed that God "actually exists“ and an even larger percentage -- 86 percent -- said they believed they could have a good relationship with God without church involvement.
It’s a Whole New WorldUCCvitality.org
21st Century Culture and Church
Post-Modern - Modern World is crumbling Reason
Where moderns wanted their preachers to explain mystery, post-moderns want to experience mystery.
Optimism Post-moderns are not so sure that salvation is
around the corner or that science and technology are our saviors.
Universality Post-moderns revel in the local and the particular.
21st Century Culture and Church
Post-Modern - Modern World is crumbling Objectivity
“Everybody is coming from somewhere,” say post-moderns. “What you call ‘objective truth,’ we call the interests of the powerful and privileged.”
“the grand story” Post-moderns tend to be skeptics about this big
story. Small stories, particular stories, and different versions of reality appeal to the post-modern mind.
21st Century Culture and Church
While modernity was liberating and powerful in many ways, it was also and especially for Christianity, reductive. highly moral, but not especially spiritual modern Christianity explained miracle
and mystery (away) and proposed moral values and lessons as universal truth.
What was missing was spiritual connection and experience, the experience of a sacred, numinous, transcendent Other.
Postmodern Culture and Church
Christianity in North America has moved (or been moved) away from its position of dominance loss not only of numbers but of power and influence within society.
Rather than occupying a central and influential place, North American Christian churches are increasingly marginalized, in our urban areas they represent a minority movement It is now a truism to speak of North America as a mission
field. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, Edited by Darrell
Guder, the Gospel and Our Culture Network
What does it allmean to the Church?
We are all at a threshold, a ‘kairos’ moment:
Where will we be in 2020?
It means CHANGE!It means CHANGE!
It means CHANGE!It means CHANGE!
PHYLLIS TICKLE’S basis thesis is that every 500 years, the Church
goes through a rummage sale, and cleans out the old forms of
spirituality and replaces it with new ones.
Play Video
Change = OpportunityChange = Opportunity
Exodus 3:13 - 15 Then Moses said to God, "If I
come to the people of Israel and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses,
"I AM WHO I AM."
YAHWEH
I Will Be
What Tomorrow
Requires
The Future Question
God will be what the future demands,
but,……. Will we be the churches and
disciples that tomorrow requires?
Vital churches and faithful disciples are missional minded
Missional in purpose “The Church exists to serve God’s
Mission” Mission as Missio Dei, UCC Committee on Structure, 1992
Vital churches in the 21st CenturyMissional, Relational & Conversational
Missional in purpose
Relational in outreach
Conversational in witness
Resources for Missional Congregations
Vitality Resources on www.ucc.org/vitality “It’s a Whole New World” Anthony Robertson Vitality Interviews Vitality Powerpoint - Retreat Resources
www.ucc.org/vitality/retreat-resources/ Web ministry resources
www.ucc.org/vitality/web-university/free-resources-for-internet-ministry.html
MissionInsite demographics www.missioninsite.com
In these tough times….
God has a future for the church The stillspeaking God calls us to be
Churches that the future requires Churches that tough times demand Missional in purpose