Sunday, November 29, 2009
A New Work of God in SW Jonesboro
God has created a new "lighthouse" in Southwest Jonesboro. Why has He done this? Does God need another church? Does Jonesboro need another church? Isn't there enough churches in Jonesboro? Or the world for that matter? Jonesboro was referred to as "Fort God" in a national news piece some years ago in reference to the shear number of church in the city. It seems, to some folks, that there is a church on every corner. That's obviously not true, however there are many, many, many church in our city. This is true of most communities of the Bible Belt. Therefore, I pose the questions, "Does God need another church? Does Jonesboro, Arkansas need another church?
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The answer to the question posed in my November blog, "Does God need another church? or Does Jonesboro, Arkansas need another church" is "Yes." It would seem on the surface that the city doesn't need another church. However, that is not the case. The first of two points to support my point of view: many of the existing churches in our area are unhealthy! What do I mean by "unhealthy?" A large number of churches in our area have only senior adults in attendance. I praise the Lord for the attendance of senior adults in these churches, however, what will these churches look like in 15 years? A church is healthy when it is reaching all age groups. A church only has a future if it is reaching young people. A recent survey stated that 83% of Southern Baptist students will abandon their faith durning their college years. So, not only do we have to reach those young people, we have to retain them as well. So, where are all the young people?
ReplyDeleteThe second point is this: Our church culture has moved to the "mega church" model. The church has adopted the cultural concept of being enterntained. The larger churches have more spectators than they do disciples. As church staffs grow larger, there are less and less opportuinty for the average church member to be involved in ministry. Sadly, many members are happy about this model. How often have we heard the phrase "that is the preacher's job, not mine!"
Intimacy is the first casualty of the mega-church model. If larger church do not do a great job deveolping small groups the pendulum will eventually swing back in the other direction as this next generation looks for authentic relationships. Some will and some won't. That is why new churches are needed. It is important for the smallers churches to realize that the the large churches are not the competition. We are all in this together. Partnerships are being developed that will allow the convention to accomplish the task that God has placed before us. The number one reason new churches are need, I beleive, is to become "culturally relative" in order to reach the missing generation.