The next 40 years

A commissioner to the General Assembly (our denomination’s national
meeting that happens every two years), came back to report on what he
did. He was a bit disappointed that he was on the church growth
committee. The first day they sat down and talked about how if the
church continues to decline at the same rate, then there will be no
members left in forty years. The second day, they studied Matthew 25.
The third day, they studied Matthew 25. They went on a couple of field
trips, and they studied Matthew 25 some more.

The people hearing the report were shocked. That was it? I mean Matthew 25 is super, but… that’s it?

Perhaps there was more to it than that, and that’s just what the
commissioner reported, but wow. Why not come up with a strategic plan
for growth? I realize that there is no denominational master plan that
we can follow. We tend to be much more grassroots. But we had the best
and the brightest minds of our denomination gathered in one place, why
not dream a bit about what we could do? We have a lot of money, a lot
of property, and some of the most gifted pastors… what could we do?
Here’s what I would love to see happen: