December 2, 2006

The Church Next Door

“Fading vision, institutional mentality, resource loss (people and finances) and a broken relationship to the surrounding community: these factors are symptomatic of a larger ailment that becomes like a cancer virtually causing the church to become ineffective. When Trinity United Methodist Church was founded, eighty years ago, there were practically no customs, traditions, or established infrastructure. Rather, it was the excitement of day-to-day hard work that drove those who started the church and its charter members to reach new people for Christ. It was the vision of a new church, reaching out to as-yet-unknown people in order to build a sustainable community of faith, that united and governed the founding body.
Over time, the church began to achieve its dream of drawing members and putting together programs to attract others to the church. Programs helped organize and develop Christians: Sunday school classes; Bible studies, United Methodist Women, youth groups, choir, and even a kindergarten. With all the programming came the infrastructure, developed to help the church carry out its mission and fulfill its vision. Boards and sub-boards, committees and sub-committees were approved and organized. Due to the great growth, the building needed to be enlarged, remodeled, redecorated, and protected. As a result, time that used to go to outreach was now spent directing and coordinating the organization and building.
As the church grew, less time and focus tended to go toward attracting new people, and more energy was spent on providing for those who had already arrived. Here is where the trouble started. When the church’s focus shifted from a missionary orientation (outreach) to a maintenance orientation (inreach), the church subconsciously began to isolate itself from the community around it. Now it has gone on so long that the church has lost touch with the interests, needs, and value shifts of its surrounding community. It has trouble speaking to unchurched people, anywhere, let alone in the surrounding neighborhood. The church no longer understands or responds to the changed interests and needs of those who live within blocks of its own doors.
Increasingly unable to speak to non-Christians, due to the fact the church now is entirely inwardly focused, it began to decline. It has been a slow, natural process with some people moving away, while others passed away. As the church declined, those who remained have become focused on sustaining the church they all enjoy. They look around each Sunday and see the dwindling number of people attending, wondering what happened. The church has tried to reach out over the years, but with little success. It is hard to understand the needs and desires of the secular culture that has changed, creating great disappointment and the feeling of failure. One year from now (Nov. 2006), if things remain as is, the church will no longer be able to maintain itself, financially or in terms of human commitment, and it will have no option than to close. The story of Trinity echoes the story of thousands of other churches across the United States: the majority of churches are in decline and in a few years will be standing where Trinity is today. Even the stronger churches of today are leaving their neighborhoods to relocate in a ten-acre cornfield on the edge of town, with no neighbors in sight, often abandoning those that need the Gospel the most…” Last November I wrote these observations of the church that I pastor which is located right across the street from the porches. A year ago the church was in a pretty precarious position; at that time things did not look so good. However, a plan of action was developed, supported and implemented by the congregation. In the church office, crammed around some tables, huddled around a space heater as we could not afford to turn the heat on for just a group of twelve, the plan was conceived - - - we would work on becoming “The Church Next Door”. It was in this meeting the following action plan was developed:

Action Points

• We will mobilize a prayer group within the church, praying that God would guide us.
• As of November 19, 2005, we will give 10% of our weekly offerings will be mailed into the
Conference monthly, with the check being written weekly, before any other check.
• We will vote to stay open by not only giving of our financial gifts, but our willingness to make sacrifices (time, attitudes, and desires).
• We will let go of the past, not blaming, pointing fingers, gossiping, or living in it.
• We will take on the attitude “it is not about us”; it is about Jesus and others.
• We will listen to those outside the church with the desire to meet their needs. Everything will be put on the table - - - worship times, styles, and other issues that we hear. We will be open to new people and new ideas.
• Our concern will not be keeping a building open; our concern will be about reaching the lost for Jesus.
• We will consider ourselves to be missionaries and our church a mission base. Our church building will not just be for church but be used as a community center, too.
• We will be encouragers, standing together, working side by side to accomplish God's will.
• We will depend on God to meet all our needs.