Actscelerate.com

Cojak

Just thinking....

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **5/29/22 8:11 pm**

Our life style takes us to a variety of churches. Mostly small but we also have attended 2 mega churches this winter. They both now have a little over half of their previous attendance of our earlier visits.
The smaller churches have only a skeleton of what they once had. Two churches that were running a solid 100+ last time we were there before Covid, now have 15 to 25 in attendance.
Two of the smaller churches have changed pastors.

Most has an organ, piano, and drum sets, but no one to play.

I wonder, were people looking for a reason NOT to attend those churches. Was this a good time or excuse to change churches? My heart goes out to the pastors I Have met. I know two of them are pastoring and accepting no pay. They tell me they are struggling to pay utilities and maintenance.

One bit of news I think is correct is Wildwood had 2 COG congregations. The pastor of the largest one suggested the Overseer combine the two and he would take the associate pastor position. It seems to be working well. Both pastors and congregations seem to be happy.

I see lots of areas that could work...
As I said, Just thinking... Smile

_________________
Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/

Preacher777

Friendly Face Posts: 434 **5/30/22 2:29 pm**

I really believe much more could be done for the Kingdom of God in many circumstances if churches could combine and prefer one another rather than immaturity and control issues. I have seen it work wonderfully in some situations where finances and abilities of members were maximized.

Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **5/30/22 3:06 pm**

Preacher777

Friendly Face Posts: 434 **5/30/22 5:14 pm**

We have several people who did not return after Covid but not as much as what you described in the original post. I am curious as to what other people are seeing out there concerning churches being down in attendance since Covid?

Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **5/30/22 9:18 pm**

Our home church in NC is down about 1/2 as far as I can tell. We had one church close in our town due to the terrible actions of an associate or youth pastor. He was convicted in court of molesting the young girls in the church. It was the death knell for the well established church. Some of the more senior members joined our church, which helped some.
Our church is aging out, and the new members are also senior and close in age, we have very few youth.
We are definitely struggling. Our pastor assures us that finances are still good. That is a plus..
Wink

_________________
Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/

Aaron Scott

When churches CAN combine...

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 6042 **5/31/22 8:21 am**

there are efficiencies/savings that can enable both pastors to be supported (or semi-supported), as well as give the church greater resources.

Instead of two electric bills, there's one.

Instead of two mortgages, there's one.

The joint tithes, resources, energy, etc., can create "critical mass."

The issues, as I see them, are probably about just WHO will be the pianist, worship leader, lead pastor, adult SS teacher, musicians, etc. If everyone prefers the other, that's nice. (Cojak, when you said the pastor of the LARGER church took the associate position, that was impressive.)

If there are, say, two SS teachers, it can give both of them a break from time to time. Perhaps once a month or so.

The issue is probably when someone who is really good is in the same position as someone who really isn't that good, but wants to retain the job.

But if people can move past it, oh, the joy!

(The church I pastor had merged with another church some short time before. One of those ladies is the most faithful attender I have.)

skinnybishop

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1055 **5/31/22 2:29 pm**

I've posted this elsewhere, but one more time won't hurt.

Before Covid, we were running about 160. Now we are running about 100.

2 Families moved to other towns
Some decided to start attending a larger church
Some decided to start their own online ministries
Some just quit coming and, despite our efforts, we don't know why.
We had 2 people that died

One of those who passed, attended regularly, with her adult daughter and son-in-law. They have not returned since the funeral. They have not answered or returned calls from me, or other church members.

As long as mama was alive, they came regularly. The day after mama's funeral, they disappeared, and apparently, don't want to to be bothered.

Despite it all, we are still providing the same ministries and outreaches that we were before.

Still doing youth and children's ministry
Still having fellowships/outings
Still having monthly widows ministry
Still on 2 radio stations per week
Still doing nursing home service every week
Still doing VBS
Still donating to missions (home and world)
Still reaching out to our local elementary school
Still supporting law enforcement officers
Still supporting community benevolence organization
Still supporting Gideons
Still sending out nearly 200 devotion books, quarterly, to prisons

We are as alive and active as we were before....we just don't have as many people
_________________
Eddie Wiggins

FLRon

Acts-celerater Posts: 787 **6/1/22 5:06 am**

Just a few miles from our church is another decades old COG congregation. It’s been running 8-12 for many years. Why that church wasn’t combined with ours is something I could never understand, except that the few remaining saints stubbornly held onto the past. Well, it finally happened that the state office closed it down and the building was sold to an independent work. We haven’t picked up any of the former members.

Our attendance is currently running at about 75% of what it was pre-Covid, some Sunday’s a little more. We are blessed to have a nice 5 year old sanctuary with zero debt, so we weathered the Covid storm just fine. That said, I have heard of several churches in our area that have never bounced back from Covid and are teetering on the brink.

According to some so-called church experts, what you have right now in attendance is your new normal. I think going forward COG leadership is going to be forced to make the hard decisions to combine small churches in order to become more efficient while reducing expenses. I just pray that in those churches a servants heart prevails.
_________________
“Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”
Voddie Baucham

Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **6/2/22 4:12 pm**

As a member reading these comments I am blessed. God bless you men who stay on the line and hold the fort while testifying, and not beating the ones left, but lifting them up. Cool

_________________
Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/

Da Sheik

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1865 **6/6/22 7:54 am**

IMHO, Covid served to eliminate the nominal church member. I think some of it is also a function of the time in which we live. The Bible predicts apostasy in the latter times.

4thgeneration

A few thoughts...

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1607 **6/9/22 7:12 pm**

Through the years I've seen so many situations where combining two small, struggling churches would create one larger and stronger ministry in a community. But sadly it is so often the case that people would rather hold onto their position or place of "authority" in a small, dying church, than to give up their role for the greater good of ministry going forward. There is also the battle over which location, as neither is willing to concede to surrounding their church building to be sold and move over to the other. Without sounding crude, it begins to look like dogs marking their territory. Thus, so many are as you describe, only a skeleton of what once was, with no vitality or life, no youth and no future, except a slow, sad, ineffective death.

Every pastor I talk to has been affected ministry wise through covid. We were touching 600 pre-covid through 2 services. In all honesty, if you consider about 75 who were counted in both service (choir, musicians, staff, serve team members), we were having 500-525. We've seen a huge turnover in the past two years. People stopped attending, aren't attending anywhere, and don't have a plan to return. Others saw the opportunity to jump ship and find a church that does music more to their liking. Still others seemed to expect continual contact through some means, above what is practical in that environment. I mean, we were sending them tithe envelopes in the mail....

At the same time we have new people every week. Two weeks ago we took in 23 new members (adults). Some of those were families with children, taking the total number to nearly 30. People are getting saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, set free of addictions, marriages restored, and etc. We've had 3 recently set free from demonic oppression/possession. We are experiencing revival in many ways on a weekly basis. And we had more people in discipleship (Sunday School and Small Groups) this spring than we've had during our ministry at this location.

We are not too far from that 500-525 number at this point. We don't have that every Sunday, but we are hitting that number at times. Of course, with summer here, that will likely change until school is back in session. My point is, our numbers are similar, but the faces have changed quite a bit. I don't think we can wait around for things to get back to pre-covid normal. We have to focus forward and find ways to accomplish life changing ministry in the time that we are in. Back then isn't coming back. Some of them aren't either. And I have had to learn that is ok.

Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **6/11/22 7:04 pm**

I am sure I am not the only one that appreciates the comments here. These are GOOD for my thinking...... Cool

_________________
Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/