Can We Talk?

Did you know that fewer than 20% of North Carolinians attend church on an average weekend? That number is both shocking and disturbing. The Church is failing in the job Jesus has given us, which is to make disciples.

New, fast-growing, non-denominational, “community churches” are incredibly effective at reaching and drawing in huge numbers of people. Give them credit – they offer what a lot of people are looking for and bring a Christian message to those disconnected from the traditional Church. That is not to say all churches should be like them – they are not perfect, by any means.
On the other hand, very many established, conventional, main-stream congregations struggle mightily to attract new members and may not do enough to nurture the spiritual development of the ones they have. Meanwhile, 80% of North Carolina is somewhere else on Sunday mornings – the people are out there, but we are not reaching them.

I would like to begin a conversation here in this blog about who we are (at Oak Grove UMC or at your own church) and how we want to do the work Jesus asks of us. What would it take to reach some of that 80% right here in our neighborhood? How do we “engage” with the community around us? What does our community need from us (how can we find out), and what can we offer them? How can we empower our members who feel called to try new ministries? Talk to me, and talk to each other: don’t be afraid to say what you think about our church’s ministry and what we can try to make it better.

The United Methodist Church’s new RETHINK CHURCH campaign helps us think through a lot of these questions and offers guidance on how to reach people for Jesus in today’s world. Check it out at www.rethinkchurch.org.

We don’t need to be a “mega-church,” but we do need to make disciples. The task is not easy for us these days, but we have a lot of wise, faithful resources available to help us, not to mention the commission of Jesus and the power of God’s Holy Spirit.