In January, we began a new practice as a church. At the request of our Bishop and the Annual Conference, we began to track and report numbers in 6 areas every week. These areas included:
- Worship attendance – the number of people participating in worship.
- Professions of faith – the number of baptisms we celebrate.
- Discipleship growth attendance – including small groups, adult Sunday School, and Bible studies.
- Mission participation – think LMUMC Food Pantry, AiF chapels, Change the World Sunday, etc.
- Missional giving – the amount given to missions (including apportionments, special Sundays, etc.)
- Pledges & offering – the amount received as pledges and as offering.
Now you might be wondering, “Why does the Bishop and Annual Conference want to know these numbers? What do these numbers say about us as a church anyway?” Well, you should know that the entire denomination has recently been invited to “redirect the flow of attention, energy, and resources to an intense concentration on fostering and sustaining an increase in the number of vital congregations effective in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” (Call to Action Report) Put in simple terms - our church is being invited to get serious about our purpose. No more playing around. No more wasting time. No more getting side-tracked! The church is being invited to put all of its creative juices, all of its gifts and graces, all of its prayers and power towards one thing: making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Now you might be thinking, “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing all along?!” Well….yes and no. CCUMC has certainly kept our purpose before us and our priorities of the last two years are absolutely aligned with that purpose. This is something we can and want to celebrate. At the same time, it can be easy to lose sight of our purpose and priorities and get caught up in our individual and communal preferences. Discernment is definitely not an easy task and responsibility! We can also get pretty rusty around our core practices, like attending worship, sharing our faith, supporting one another and keeping each other accountable, as well as reaching out meaningfully in love, grace, and justice. The invitation we’ve received help us get back on track, so to speak, where we might have wandered off.
Another thing to remember, those 6 areas aren’t really the point. The point is to love God with our whole heart, all our strength, and every fiber of our soul, as well as loving our neighbor (that includes strangers, enemies, and our friends) as ourselves. Those numbers are merely the fruit that grows when we are doing just that.
So…why am I telling you all this? Because over the next few months, we will be setting some goals for ourselves. These goals will name how we intend to “get serious” about each of those areas. And if it isn’t clear yet, this will require every single one of us. Consider this your invitation! You will be hearing more in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s some food for thought:
Disciple making & world transformation occurs through vital congregations
Vital congregations are Spirit-filled, forward-leaning communities of followers that welcome all people (Gal 3:28), make disciples of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20), and serve like Christ through justice and mercy ministries (Micah 6:8, Luke 4:17-21)
A vital congregation has
Inviting and inspiring worship
Engaged disciples in mission and outreach
Gifted, equipped and empowered lay leadership
Effective, equipped and inspired clergy leadership
Small groups and strong children’s and youth ministry
A disciple is a changed follower of Jesus
Disciples worship Disciples make new disciples
Disciples engage in growing their faith
Disciples engage in mission Disciples give to mission