A. Membership actually describes realities of months or even years ago — people leaving the church are normally removed from rolls significantly later.
B. Many younger people, though totally active and supportive, see membership as “institutional” and therefore meaningless. They tend not to join — especially within active, growing congregations that reach today’s unchurched.
C. Membership figures, often inflated, maintain an image of the church “back in the good ol’ days.”
D. Average attendance is reported to be about 1.2 million per Sunday and has diminished only slightly over the past decade (about 30,000 total — not per year).
E. Yes, true shut-ins are a valuable, continuing part of the life of the church.
2. Encourage the 11,000 plus churches to purge collectively their roles of at least 500,000 members over the next two years. If we persist in looking for membership growth, it is inconceivable to expect to see that increase until average attendance is at least 80 percent, preferably 90 percent, of membership. Granted, average attendance is 50 percent of membership — though this is the norm, it is not the ideal.
3. To avoid a devastating, institutional shock wave, over the next three years freeze the membership at the December 1999 level for per capita, allowing time for new formulas to be established. Institutional preservation, if it should happen at all, will only come as a side benefit of commitment to Christ and Christ’s Mission.
4. Create a special Lenten study series for all churches to use in 2003 that focuses on Passion (Christ’s suffering for the sake of the world and our passion to be Christ’s people in the world for which Christ suffered). The culmination would be expressed in a national Easter celebration of resurrection and rebirth of the church, encouraging over 1.5 million Presbyterians to stand, affirm their vows of membership, expressing a new, passionate commitment to the mission and ministry to which Christ is calling them. On that day congregational representatives should visit and pray with every shut-in.
5. Request every PC(USA) congregation to set an attendance growth goal between 2 and 8 percent per year for the next decade. A church that grows by 4 percent per year for 10 years will grow by 50 percent; a church that grows by 7 percent per year for 10 years will grow by almost 100 percent. Realize, however, that the normal congregation will lose about 7 percent per year due to moving, mortality and mad.
6. Establish attendance as the primary indicator of growth or decline, with membership as the secondary, yet important, index. We must always remember too that the church is ultimately called into existence for ministry and mission, not merely spectator attendance — so even attendance growth can be terribly misleading. It is interesting to observe the sometimes hostile reaction when this concept is put forward. The cry is often heard, “We aren’t interested in numbers!” Yet these are often some of the first people to call attention to the decrease in membership of the church. Keep in mind that the appropriate use of numbers ultimately always attaches a name with each number.
Oh, wait! I just looked up. That’s not a vulture! It’s a dove circling, wanting to land.
JOHN HABERLIN, former PC(USA) associate for church growth, is pastor, First church, Centralia, Wash.
