Church Membership

[jmcantley74]

Steve Brought up an interesting chance for us to leave our concerns and views yet I see that 25 people have looked at it and there are no responses. I am not sure how many of you really realize the situation that we are in at St. Andrews.

I know that our congregation now is doing well and we are able to stay afloat due to the strength and generosity of our current members. My concern lies in the future. What happens when the "core" members of our church continue to pass along and we aren't replacing them.

I am not saying I have a good idea on how to prevent this from happening but there has to be a structure involved to draw more people in to church. I know that money is always an issue but I think we as a congregation need to really look at outreach as a more important piece of our ministry. I am taking responsibility for this as well because I am not talking as much as I should be about our church or my faith either.

This past week Pastor Grope preached about how the maid of Walt Disney had $8 million worth of stock in her drawer and she died without very much money because she didn't know the value of what she had. He posed a question to us "If you had a friend that had such a gem in her drawer, wouldn't you tell her?" So Why aren't we telling others about our faith?

I am giulty of this as well. Talking about our faith is not easy. we are so blessed to have a church family that is welcoming and involved. This is a great thing when trying to get new members. We have a lot to offer them. Let's start talking and hopefully we can draw in some new faces to love and care for.

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[admin]

Boy, I wished I would've answered this sooner!! Thank God that we had the time with Jenny that we did. To answer Jenny finally...I've been reading about the concerns of other denominations referring to the 'graying of the congregation'; these articles discussed the older people that currently make up much of church parishes. As these 'pillars of the church' die, move into assisted living homes, or move in with relatives, the void left by their absence is keenly felt...in the lack of attendance and lack of contribution. That may seem a little callous, but both attendance and contribution are VITAL to the existence of churches like ours. As Jen wrote, OUTREACH needs to become a focal point of our local church work. We need to reaffirm our place in the neighborhood, and one festival per year doesn't cut it IMO. Would sure like to hear some ideas from out there in cyberspace.

[Tom]

Very well spoken by Jen.  She continues to be missed...

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