|
WEEKLY
ARTICLE
The
Rector's Report at Annual Meeting
Weekly Article by the Rev. Matt Kennedy
January 20th, 2006
The Church of the Good Shepherd
In
this week's article I will: 1. share some of the encouraging
statistics I reported to the Annual Meeting; 2. unveil the
vestry's “Goals and Challenges for 2006" and 3. give you some
more information about the new education series beginning
this Sunday, January 22nd.
Statistics
for 2006:
2005
was a rebuilding year for Good Shepherd. Following the tumult
of 2003-2004 and Good Shepherd's decision to stand firm on
God's unchanging Word, over 30 parishioners transferred from
Good Shepherd to other churches in the area.
Despite
this loss, God has over the last 3 years drawn nearly 50 new
believers and new members to Good Shepherd. Not only has our
membership recovered from this loss, God has blessed us in
such a way that Good Shepherd is now larger now than we were
before the crisis.
In
2005 we added 10 new members (many, if not most, of whom invited
Jesus into their lives for the first time at Good Shepherd).
In 2004 we added 17 and in 2003 we added over 20.
This
is wonderful. But membership is not the most crucial statistic
when it comes to measuring the growth and health of a church.
Most
churches, including Good Shepherd, have many more people on
their roles than actually attend Sunday services on a regular
basis. Thus, Average Sunday Attendance is the number to watch.
Here
is a general rundown of Good Shepherd's Average Sunday Attendance
since 1997:
In
1997 Good Shepherd's Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) was 53.
This was a typical year for the time period. Good Shepherd's
ASA hovered in the mid 50's throughout much of the 90's.
In
2002 Good Shepherd's ASA was 42. This was the last year of
the three year interim between Fr. Jones's ministry and my
own.
In
2003 our ASA was 69. This was the year of General Convention,
the year we decided to take our stand. The 30 members I mentioned
above had just begun to leave.
In
2004 our average attendance (ASA) was 67.3. By the end of
2004, most of the 30 members mentioned above had already transferred
out but many of the 50 new members, also mentioned above,
had joined.
Finally,
last year, 2005, Good Shepherd's ASA hit 70
.
This
is, given all that has transpired from 2002-2004, simply spectacular.
It is, in fact, the best ASA Good Shepherd has had in over
a decade.
Despite
all of the great challenges facing this parish, Good Shepherd's
ASA has steadily and consistently increased.
The
best way to understand the significance of these numbers is
to compare them to the Episcopal Church nationwide and to
the diocese of Central New York.
From
1999-2004, the diocese of Central New York suffered a 12.6%
loss in ASA. From 1994 to 2004, the diocese of Central New
York suffered a 19.3% loss, going from an ASA of 7,787 in
1994 to an ASA of 6,287 in 2004. All of this information can
be accessed here:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/ASA_94-04.pdf
Nationwide,
from 2003-2004 the Episcopal Church lost 27,252 out of 823,017
Sunday attenders, bringing the Average Sunday Attendance nationwide
in 2004 to an all time low of 795,765. This represents a 3%
loss from 2003.
Over
the last five years the Episcopal Church has suffered a 5%
reduction in ASA and a 4% loss over the last ten years. All
of this information can be found here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/FAST_FACTS_2004.pdf
So,
both independently and by comparison Good Shepherd did very
well in 2005. We have been growing steadily for the last three
years in a diocese and denomination that has been in systemic
decline for more than a decade. The rate of our growth slowed
a bit in 2005, but that is natural given the need to shore
up and rebuild after 2004. I pray and I expect that 2006 will
see a return to the steeper growth curves of 2003-4.
More
Statistics:
This
year we added two new bible studies; the New Beginners Bible
Study and the First Light Bible Study. In total we have 5
bible studies running on a weekly basis aside from our regular
Christian education program on Sunday morning.
We've
been keeping Bible Study numbers for the last year. Why? The
first part of Good Shepherd's slogan is “Rooted in the Word”.
A church rooted in the Word is a growing and healthy church.
The bible is the primary line of communication between God
and his people. The more people in a church who are listening
to God and applying his Word to their lives, the more faithful,
holy, joyful, and committed the church becomes.
The
stats for 2005 are in bold. The 2004 numbers, where applicable,
have been included as well.
Study
groups:
Tuesday
Morning Bible Study: 9
2004:
8
First
Light : 8
2004:
5 (This was the Tuesday Evening Bible Study in 2004. It is
now a bible study for those who have graduated from New Beginners)
New
Beginners 10
2004:
0
Men's
bible study : 9
2004:
6
Women's
Bible study : 9
2004:
9
Sunday
Morning Adult Education: 19.4
2004:
15
Total
in Study groups in a given week : 62 (subtracting19 repeaters
= 43 )
In
sum, 43 people out of an ASA of 70 attend
some form of Christian ed on a weekly basis = approximately
74% of our people .
What
can these numbers tell us?
Well,
I think it is a sign that faithfulness to the Word of God
opens a church up to growth and God's blessing. God sent is
his Son Jesus Christ into the world because he wants people
to hear his gospel, repent and receive salvation, and then
be trained to follow him and his teachings (Matthew 28:18-20).
For that reason, God generally brings people to churches that
seek out the lost, preach his gospel, and teach his Word fully
and faithfully.
Good
Shepherd has committed to do this and for that reason we have
not shared in the general decline that surrounds us in this
diocese and in the Episcopal Church.
Does
this mean that God will not try and test us in the future?
Certainly not! But it does mean that so long as we remain
faithful and committed to doing what God has called the Church
to do, he will provide for all of our needs and remain faithful
to us through every trial and crisis.
We
have learned, God has taught us, that though it may seem otherwise
at the time, standing on the rock of God's Word is always
the best decision even when it means short-term loss and heartache.
In the long term, God always wins. That means that we must
be sure to follow and trust him in the short-term.
Challenges
and Goals in 2006
At
the last vestry retreat of 2005, the vestry set goals and
challenges for Good Shepherd to meet in 2006. Think of them
as New Year's resolutions.
Church-wide
goals and challenges:
•
The vestry calls every member of Good Shepherd to share your
faith in Jesus Christ with at least one non-believer each
month. That is only 12 people a year. This is, of course,
not just something the vestry asks of you. It is the mission
Jesus himself gave to every Christian; to make disciples of
all nations. At the beginning of each month, ask God to give
you opportunities to share your faith and then ask him to
give you the courage and peace to share it gently, kindly,
and with the love of Christ. We'll be talking more about how
to do this all year long, but you can get started now!
•
The vestry will host 4 “Bring a Friend to Church” Sundays
in 2006. There will be a pot-luck lunch after the 10:30am
service on these days and the sermon and music will be designed
to reach non-believers. Make sure you invite a non-believer
who does not already go to another church. The first of these,
as mentioned below, will be Sunday February 19 th so start
to think and pray about someone you can ask.
•
There will be at least one bread-making walk/about day this
year. Sometime it takes a while for the seed to take root.
Sometimes you can fish all day and not catch a thing until
the last hour. In the same way, these door to door visits
are sometimes fruitful and sometimes not. The results are
up to God. It's up to us to be good and diligent fishers of
men.
•
The Shepherd's Bowl is now known throughout Binghamton. It
is vital to the lives of many hungry people on the Southside.
The vestry encourages you to support this program with your
time, talent, and treasure. Jesus calls his followers to feed
hungry bodies as well as hungry souls. Providing and serving
food is a wonderful way of expressing Christ's love
.
Personal
goals:
•
The vestry challenges every member of Good Shepherd to start
the year off by establishing good habits. The best way to
begin putting God first in your life is to spend time with
him every day. Reading at least one chapter of the bible and
praying through the ACTS formula (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving,
Supplication) every day is a great way to deepen your knowledge,
faith, and joy in Christ.
•
If you are not currently participating in a weekly bible study
or attending Sunday Christian-ed, the vestry encourages and
invites you to pick a study or a class and join in. 75% participation
is fantastic, but we're going for 100%. A church actively
studying, applying, and following God's Word is a healthy
church. A believer doing the same is a growing, maturing and
joyful believer, able to weather the storms of life with the
grace and peace of Christ.
•
Find your spiritual gift and begin using it in the church.
This is not a vestry challenge, but a challenge from me. If
you are a believer, God has given you at least one spiritual
gift to be used in the church among God's people. Finding
and using your gift is a key to spiritual maturity and fulfillment.
I wrote an article on this subject last year here. Study and
pray through 1 st Corinthians 12 and ask God to show you your
gift. We will talk more about how to discover and use your
gifts during our Christian Education series on the Church,
described below.
What
is the Church?
What
is the church? Is it a building? Is it a group of people?
Can it be both? What is it supposed to be and do? The bible
answers all of these questions and in it, God provides the
mission for every local parish, including Good Shepherd.
God
has given the church the most important mission the world
has ever known. You are part of that mission. IN this class
you will learn that mission and learn how you were called
by God on purpose, to participate in his mission through the
church. You will also learn how and why Good Shepherd exists
and about our place in God's plan (yes, we have one).
The
vestry and I encourage everyone to attend this series as through
it you will learn and see some of the principles that have
been at the core of some of the programs we have established
and leadership decisions we have made over the last three
years.
End
Home
Sermons Contact
Us Links Last
Week's Article
|
