Thank You God pt. 2
The standing rule with pastors, at least ones who wish happy and healthy lives with their congregations, is that you don't make changes in the first year of your pastorate. Now, unless you are an exact clone of the previous pastor, and I know very few pastors who are or would wish to be, this is a pretty tall order. Practically speaking, the real question comes in how you handle the decisions and the changes that need to be made.
First Lutheran Church, like many others, was once a thriving, booming congregation. In the 70s, there were more than 1000 members on the rolls. Now there are around 300, with about 100 worshiping each week. But many churches do not make the necessary changes to function adequately at the size in which they currently function.
For me, there were some changes made before I came that had a significant effect on the ministry of First Lutheran Church. About five years ago, First Lutheran School was closed, leaving only First Lutheran Preschool. In addition to that, the number of boards and committees was reduced to about four. Since I've come, the leadership of First Lutheran Church has decided to hold one worship service (as opposed to two), and the family nights have been discontinued due to lack of volunteers to lead them.
In spite of some of these there have been a number of blessings so far. We've had a few families worshiping regularly with us. We've had inquiries about baptisms. There has been a sense of excitement, and some people, for the first time since the school closed, have begun to think about the future.
Ministry is often something that takes place on a spiritual, supernatural level and it's always dangerous to try to use numbers to validate the effectiveness of what is being done. God calls us not to generate numbers, but to be faithful. Every so often, though, the numbers bespeak hope into the lives of the laborers in the vineyard.
One of the biggest problems at First Lutheran Church was that the church was operating at a deficit of about $1000 per week. We were losing over $50,000 a year. Not bad for some churches, but it was not something we wanted live with. When this is the case, there is a shadow, a pall that looms over everything that the church does. "This church is dying." "No young people come here anymore." "We need to save money."
To get back to the original point, there comes a time when you have to do something. I could wait another year, not make any changes, and effectively lead the church another few steps down the pathway to a slow and unheralded death. Or I could do something. Quick.
So I tried something. After a short discussion with the elders, I got together some of the leaders of the church, and introduced them to Herb Miller's "New Consecration Sunday" program. We divided up the responsibilities, and set things in motion for Consecration Sunday: November 23, 2008.
New Consecration Sunday is, for the lack of a better terminology, a canned program where pretty much everything is set for you. It's easy to follow, and nobody has to ask anyone for money or pledges. And, most importantly for the situation I found myself in, I could do it in six weeks.
In the back of my mind, I thought that it would be good if we could get a 10% increase in pledges for the coming year. This would take out a significant chunk of our shortfall. I hoped that we could maybe muster a 20% increase, which is what our guest leader said happened both times he used it at his church. That would bring us about back to breaking even. But God wanted to get involved in a big way, bigger than I would dare to dream.
After all the plans of men, and the pledges given and tallied, and the luncheon served and enjoyed. The total was announced. The increase in offerings pledged for next year was...
39%!
Thank you folks for coming, and please don't forget to pick your jaws up off the floor before you leave.
In all seriousness, I pray a lot for God to do big things, to bless his people here, and send his Spirit on us. But every so often it's really nice to just see him working, even through a number.
So for today, "Thank You, God."
First Lutheran Church, like many others, was once a thriving, booming congregation. In the 70s, there were more than 1000 members on the rolls. Now there are around 300, with about 100 worshiping each week. But many churches do not make the necessary changes to function adequately at the size in which they currently function.
For me, there were some changes made before I came that had a significant effect on the ministry of First Lutheran Church. About five years ago, First Lutheran School was closed, leaving only First Lutheran Preschool. In addition to that, the number of boards and committees was reduced to about four. Since I've come, the leadership of First Lutheran Church has decided to hold one worship service (as opposed to two), and the family nights have been discontinued due to lack of volunteers to lead them.
In spite of some of these there have been a number of blessings so far. We've had a few families worshiping regularly with us. We've had inquiries about baptisms. There has been a sense of excitement, and some people, for the first time since the school closed, have begun to think about the future.
Ministry is often something that takes place on a spiritual, supernatural level and it's always dangerous to try to use numbers to validate the effectiveness of what is being done. God calls us not to generate numbers, but to be faithful. Every so often, though, the numbers bespeak hope into the lives of the laborers in the vineyard.
One of the biggest problems at First Lutheran Church was that the church was operating at a deficit of about $1000 per week. We were losing over $50,000 a year. Not bad for some churches, but it was not something we wanted live with. When this is the case, there is a shadow, a pall that looms over everything that the church does. "This church is dying." "No young people come here anymore." "We need to save money."
To get back to the original point, there comes a time when you have to do something. I could wait another year, not make any changes, and effectively lead the church another few steps down the pathway to a slow and unheralded death. Or I could do something. Quick.
So I tried something. After a short discussion with the elders, I got together some of the leaders of the church, and introduced them to Herb Miller's "New Consecration Sunday" program. We divided up the responsibilities, and set things in motion for Consecration Sunday: November 23, 2008.
New Consecration Sunday is, for the lack of a better terminology, a canned program where pretty much everything is set for you. It's easy to follow, and nobody has to ask anyone for money or pledges. And, most importantly for the situation I found myself in, I could do it in six weeks.
In the back of my mind, I thought that it would be good if we could get a 10% increase in pledges for the coming year. This would take out a significant chunk of our shortfall. I hoped that we could maybe muster a 20% increase, which is what our guest leader said happened both times he used it at his church. That would bring us about back to breaking even. But God wanted to get involved in a big way, bigger than I would dare to dream.
After all the plans of men, and the pledges given and tallied, and the luncheon served and enjoyed. The total was announced. The increase in offerings pledged for next year was...
39%!
Thank you folks for coming, and please don't forget to pick your jaws up off the floor before you leave.
In all seriousness, I pray a lot for God to do big things, to bless his people here, and send his Spirit on us. But every so often it's really nice to just see him working, even through a number.
So for today, "Thank You, God."
posted by Jed at 3:31 PM
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