George Bullard's Journey

Will Your Congregation Still Exist Ten Years from Now Collection

George Bullard is in the middle of a five-week series he is posting on his Facebook Fan Pageand his Blog at www.BullardJournal.orgon Will Your Congregation Still Exist Ten Years from Now? that deals with the survivability, vitality, and vibrancy of your congregation.

This week articles 16-20 will be posted. He is writing a new article each weekday for five weeks on one of the 25 factors that may impact your survivability and vitality.

He is also going to make these articles and supplemental materials available for purchase as a collection in two different forms. One is Personal Edition for people who simply want a personal copy of the collection for their own learning. This edition is $35.00 and may be purchased at Personal Edition.

The other is the Presentation Edition for people who want to share it with others, make copies of one or all of the articles, and receive a PowerPoint presentation to use. This edition is $100.00 and may be purchased at Presentation Edition.

Keep reading to discover what is included with each edition.

George Bullard is in the middle of a five-week series he is posting on his Facebook Fan Pageand his Blog at www.BullardJournal.orgon Will Your Congregation Still Exist Ten Years from Now? that deals with the survivability, vitality, and vibrancy of your congregation.

This week articles 16-20 will be posted. He is writing a new article each weekday for five weeks on one of the 25 factors that may impact your survivability and vitality.

He is also going to make these articles and supplemental materials available for purchase as a collection in two different forms. One is Personal Edition for people who simply want a personal copy of the collection for their own learning. This edition is $35.00 and may be purchased at Personal Edition.

The other is the Presentation Edition for people who want to share it with others, make copies of one or all of the articles, and receive a PowerPoint presentation to use. This edition is $100.00 and may be purchased at Presentation Edition.

Keep reading to discover what is included with each edition.

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if the Average Tenure of Active Congregation is Less Than 15 Years

[This is the sixteenth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Average Tenure of Active Congregation Short, Medium or Way Too Long?

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if the average tenure of membership or regular attendance of the active congregation is less than 15 years. If it is 15 to 25 years then its future vital existence is marginal to uncertain. When the average tenure is more than 25 years the long-term future vitality and even existence of the congregation is in doubt.

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from if the Average Age of the Active Congregation is Less Than 50

[This is the fifteenth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Less Than 50, 50 to 65, or over 65?

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if the average age of the active congregation is less than 50. It is marginal or uncertain if the average age is between 50 and 65. When the average age of the active congregation is over 65 it is less likely to exist ten years from now.

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now Depending on its Life Cycle Stage

[This is the fourteenth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Maturity, Empty Nest, Early Retirement or Not

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if it is in the range of the Childhood stage through just into the Retirement stage. You are marginal or uncertain to exist ten years from now if you are in the Retirement, Birth, or Infancy stages. The Old Age stage represents the stage where your congregation is less likely to exist ten years from now.

[Download Life Cycle Model, 2009 Edition The life cycle and stages of congregational development includes the stages if Birth, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Maturity, Empty Nest, Retirement, Old Age, and Death.]

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if its Weekly Worship Attendance is Over 135

[This is the thirteenth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Weekly Worship Attendance of 136 or More, 80 to 135, or Less Than 80

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if it has at least 136 people in average weekly attendance. It is marginal or uncertain if it has 80 to 135. It is less likely to exist with vitality and vibrancy if its average weekly attendance is less than 80. Having said this, these numbers are not presented with scientific accuracy, but with long years of observation as to what attendance average seems to impact the survivability of congregations; particularly ones who were once much larger.

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if its Worship is a True Encounter with God

[This is the twelfth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Worship as True Encounter with God, as a Program, or as a Cultural Gathering

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if its worship is a true encounter with God. It is marginal or uncertain if its worship is primarily a weekly program. It is less likely to exist if worship is primarily a weekly cultural gathering.

Is worship the weekly program where congregants gather, often in rows, look forward and respond to the leadership and/or performance at the front of the worship center or sanctuary? Is worship an experience in which people participate in the celebration of the Triune God and praise the God of creation and redemption? Is worship a unique and exciting experience in your church? Is it a predictable and reliable celebration of the risen Lord through liturgy that affirms the church year? Is it a cultural habit that truly has great and holy meaning for his substance, but has lost that meaning because it has become a cultural habit that fails to help congregants worship the Lord our God with their full, heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if its Relationships are About True Friendships

[This is the eleventh of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

True Friendships, Meaningful Fellowship, and Face Familiarity

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten year from now if it its congregational relationships are about creating and nurturing true friendships. It is marginal or uncertain to exist ten years from now if its congregational relationships stop at the point of being meaningful fellowship. It is less likely to exist if its congregational relationships are primarily about face familiarity.

True friendships are when people know one another, have periodic to regular relationship encounters with one another, have life concerns for one another about which they pray, and consider one another friends who can be called on for various life needs—even at 3:00 a.m. These friendships are long-lasting friendships that may remain deep friendships forever. At the same time they are not exclusive friendships. New people are regularly invited to enter each person’s sphere of true friendships. A person’s true friendship circle should never be an exclusive group not open to others.

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if it is Experiencing Conversion, Biological, and Transfer Growth

[This is the tenth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Experiencing Conversion, Biological, and Transfer Growth

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten year from now if it is experiencing conversion, biological, and transfer growth. It is marginal or uncertain to exist ten year from now if it is experiencing primarily biological and transfer growth. It is less likely to exist if it is experiencing primarily transfer growth or no growth. Growth in this case means annual additions to the congregational membership and participation base before losses are considered. It is not net growth, but additions before losses are considered.

Definitions for conversion, biological, and transfer growth are needed. Here is one perspective:

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if Four Involvement Factors are Present

[This is the ninth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

What Percentage of Your Congregation Has All Four Involvement Factors?

Your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if at least 50 percent of the number of adults present on a typical weekend for worship have all four involvement factors. If 25 to 50 percent have all four involvement factors then its future existence is marginal to uncertain. When less than 25 percent have all four involvement factors its long-term future existence is very much in doubt.

What are the four involvement factors?

• Attendance at weekly worship a minimum of 39-42 weeks per year.
• Participation in a regular, even ongoing, disciplemaking group for spiritual formation.
• Existence of deep friendship with people who are members or regular attendees.
• Service in an elected, appointed, or volunteer role in or through the congregation.

Your Congregation is More Likely to Exist Ten Years from Now if its Attendance is Growing

[This is the eighth of 25 factors that may impact the survivability and vitality of your congregation. A new factor is being posted each weekday for five weeks.]

Attendance Growing, Attendance Plateaued, Attendance Declining

While this may seem like a “no-brainer”, there may also be more to it than at first appears. Yes, your congregation is more likely to exist ten years from now if its attendance is growing. But what is attendance growth? It is marginal or uncertain if your congregation will exist ten years from now if its attendance is plateaued. If your attendance is declining it is less likely your congregation will exist ten years from now. But, is it all about numbers? No, it is more than numbers, yet at the same time as one factor of vitality and vibrancy, numbers can be important, and must be considered.

If your congregation is growing in attendance then it is beating the odds. The majority of North American congregations are plateaued or declining in attendance. Some estimates put the percentage as high as 75 percent; some 80 percent. But what is attendance growth? It is when the average number of people present for regular weekly worship services increases by a minimum of ten percent within a five-year period. It is when the number of households represented in the weekly worship attendance increases by a minimum of five percent within a five-year period. It is when the total number of different people present for weekly worship during a consecutive four-week period increase by at least 15 percent.