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