Thread by @nurya

In re the fact that I am serving a church that is growing while overall, we the mainline are having a conversation about decline, a few thoughts.

First, I would like to reply to the person who once told me, in a job interview, that her church was growing because a man was the pastor...

Correlation is not causation.

(Yes, I was interviewing her to consider her for a hire. She was not hired.)

Second, and more interesting, it is essential to remember, above all, that neither clergy nor laity have any, I repeat ANY control over whether their church is growing or declining. The most we can hope for is influence.

I can not make people come to church.

Third, and most relevant. Not a single new person entered the door the first six months I served my church. Not one. Not one! In six months!

What I did about this: I noticed it and I started wondering aloud about it.

“Do new people ever come?” I asked the senior warden.

She could not remember the last time a new person had attended church for the first time.

So then we wondered some more.

Could it be... the website???

Only one way to find out. We redid the website.

Guess what happened?

Three new people came in the door.

I serve a great church. If you, a stranger, walk in the door for the first time, you WILL be welcomed.

Someone will ask your name. You will get your prayerbook & hymnal. If you look confused, someone will sit w you to be sure you find the right page. A kind and caring someone.

We did a lot of other things too, things that are too complicated for Twitter.

But all of them had the same mindset:

If we try X, will anything change? What will we learn?

If we make a new website, what impact will it have?

This is just one example of a curiosity mindset.

There is no program. It’s an attitude of experimentation, a willingness to risk, a desire to serve God and a commitment to get things done, every day, that advance the mission of Christ: the healing of the world.

I learned these things not in seminary (sorry fabulous seminary folks) but as a new ministry developer.

But that’s a story for another day.

p.s. Our website, honestly, is not awesome. I did the initial design (self-taught; not great) and a fabulous layperson keeps it current.

holyspiritbelmont.org

It is an example of one small thing done as a witness to God’s great love.