This is WHY we are OBSSESSED @ New Hope!
Sorry, I know I said I would be silent more this week, but as the rain falls and I am having fun reading this morning, I had to share this with you. It FIRED ME UP!
People wonder WHY I am OBSESSED, or better yet, why WE @ New Hope are obsessed with going off the beaten path.
We all need to WAKE UP. We are in a BATTLE, and we are LOSING. I grow weary of pastors who hide in their HOLY HUDDLES shooting arrows at us, nor do I care anymore. The facts are the facts. Read a quick excerpt here and let's get to work for the KINGDOM!
"Experts see more troubling concerns than slowing growth: No measurable inroads on overall church attendance and signs that many churchgoers are spectators, not driving toward a deeper faith.
The unchurched remain untouched. While the number of people who say they attend at least once a week hovers around 30% year after year, the number who say they "never" go to church climbs.
The tally of "Nevers" varies from 16% in Gallup surveys to 22% in the General Social Survey, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, to 32% in an Ellison Research survey this year. The new "Nevers" come from the pool of people who once attended monthly or a few times a year.
Many slide away from church to find other answers to their spiritual quest or another church where the preaching or music or family programs better suit their style.
"You can create a church that's big, but is still not transforming people. Without transformation, the Christian message is not advanced," says Ed Stetzer, head of Lifeway Research in Nashville, which did the Outreach study." (see entire story HERE from USA TODAY.)
And if you missed this POST yesterday on what happened in CHINA, read it. It will rock your world.
Let's keep going off the beaten path! Blessings and peace.
Labels: Church Leadership, evangelism
posted by chazzdaddy @ Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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