No One Thing
Non-Series • Sermon • Submitted
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· 5 viewsIn a post-pandemic world, some wonder if the gathered church is still relevant. It is, but not for any one reason. It is the combination of many reasons.
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Median church size decreased from 150 in 2000 to 65 in 2020 (pre-pandemic). Post-pandemic numbers are not available yet, but the common belief is that the decrease likely accelerated.
The trends are actually causing the redefinition of terms:
in 2000 a church of 400+ was considered a large church
in 2022 a church of 250+ is considered a large church
in 2022 an active church attender is there once a month, not the 2-3 times a month that used to be normal (and 50 out of 52 is waaaaay in the past)
Some question if the gathered church is still relevant post-pandemic. We have more access to Christian teaching and Christian music than ever before. We could call it church a la carte.
But the gathered church provides many things that church a al carte does not:
A place with Regular Gospel Exposure, 40
A place to Observe the Ordinances, 41
A Group to be added to, 41
A place for learning doctrine, 42
sometimes we learn from lectures
sometimes we learn from conversation
sometimes we learn from observation
A place for positive peer pressure, 42
A place for mutual support of like-minded and like-missioned people, 42
A place to pray and be prayed for, 42
A place to witness and experience the transformative power of God’s Word and God’s Work, 43
A place to meet needs and have needs me, 44-45
Go Fund Me exists because Good Family Churches do not (for most people)
A place to witness and experience faithfulness over time, 46
A place for centralized and de-centralized ministry experiences, 46
A place to socialize periodically, 46
A place experience contentment, 46
A place to worship corporately, 47
A place to sing socially, 47
A place to make a difference corporately, 47
A place to witness and experience growth, 47
So what role does a la carte, including our own contributions, play?
Front door for new people
Side door for our people
Supplement for interested people