On one front, Coram Deo is doing well. Attendance at the Sunday morning service is growing, and the number of faces I don't recognize as long-timers is growing. But I have to admit, there's one trend that I'm not really encouraged by.
It seems like participation in our servant evangelism/service projects/community service (however you care to call it) events seems to be declining... and I don't know why. Could it be that people are burned out? That they are unaware of the events? That the idea doesn't resonate with them? I don't really know.
I do know that it's hard to get up and participate. Every time I go, I usually start off the day not wanting to - with a desire to just play a game, or sleep some more, or do just about anything but going out to serve. But at the same time, by the end of the day I'm usually much more rejuvenated, and glad that I got up to do it.
It could be that many people are involved in serving in other ways that I simply don't know about. But I wonder if it's a casualty of the growth we have experienced - as we get larger, it feels less like the small group of friends going out to serve and more like an "event."
I believe that serving is absolutely vital to our health as a church. If we lose heart in serving others, the church will fall gradually into something I don't want to see - a complacent group of people that talks a lot about serving... but doesn't get beyond talk. That holds no attraction to me whatsoever.
Not knowing from where the decline has come (despite the best efforts on the part of our Service Pastor, I am sure), it's hard to know how to address it. But I do know what I can do to try, beyond simply participating. I can try and encourage others to join me in it. It is one thing for the Talking Head to say "we're serving and you should join us." It is, I hope, another for me to say "I am serving, and I hope you will join me." In the former, it is an impersonal invitation. In the latter, it is an expression of a sincere desire on my part to be able to enjoy serving alongside the people in our church, and to be encouraged by their presence serving alongside me.
6 comments:
fresh vision sometimes comes when we hit a wall...I think creativity will help...cincy vineyard are doing a series on serving with some great ideas...also I've found that kindness to go sometimes helps kick up serving. www.kindnesstogo.com
one church produced it's on us connect cards and placed in program encouraging people to use the card as they served the community...
The natural tendency of the human heart it to turn inward...so encouraging people from the front with inspirational externally focused stories help.
Events are like stepping stones to help people move toward a lifestyle of serving...here people like large quick events, sprinkled with mercy serving opportunities. So I attempt to encourage our culture...
Just curious... Is your church participating in the 40 Days for Life Campaign?
We're not, though the pastor and elders would agree that abortion is a terrible, terrible thing.
I with the Campaign incredible success, but on a personal level I'm uncertain about the efficacy of protesting and I'm cynical about having such a campaign linked through its timing to the national election, simply because I've grown very jaded about the whole political process.
I don't know if it's a real decline. There have been a few low attendance events over the summer, but that could be chalked up to summer. It does seem like the growth of Sunday morning hasn't been followed with a growth in the service project attendance. And like you said, maybe that's a factor somehow.
I must say, I don't have any hard numbers. I just know that our first (1 or 2?) Food Bank event(s) had a lot of people - 15 or more, while the last two have had 4 or 5.
We have had a couple of well-attended events, so it may not be down in an absolute sense, but comparing comparabl events - car washes, the Aids Walk, the Food Bank... it seems a little weaker.
Really, though, the question on my mind is "How do we get all these new people on Sunday mornings out serving the community?"
Service is something that I really want to see people "take ownership" of, and not just be satisfied with being an attender at a church that serves.
I agree. One way is what you just said, personally invite someone to join up. They expect me to do it; it's my job.
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