State of the Church -2010

The Connectional Table recently released a “State of the Church—2010." The report presents several interesting statistics and enables us to better understand what is happening to our denomination within the United States and around the world. 

Did you know that membership in the denomination is growing? 


Did you know that 360 new United Methodist congregations were planted in the past five years? 


Did you know that 30,000 bed nets were distributed to more than 8,000 homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April 2010? 


Did you know that in a survey conducted by GCFA and participating congregations April 26 or May 3, 2009 (involving more than 8,600 worship attendees), 78% of the responders indicated a strong sense of belonging to their current congregation?

The above data is a small portion of the material in the report. I urge you to read the entire report. Click here to go to the report. I found it easier to print the report than clicking through the various parts of the report.

Ben Zander in the video, “The Art of Possibilities”, states that one of the things that we must do, to be at our best, is to break the downward spiral. It is so easy to drift into a negative view of life, a negative view of our church, or a negative view of our family. We must break that negative view and begin to see all that is positive that goes on around us.  This does not mean that we ignore our problems and difficulties; it does mean that we lay the emphasis on aspects that produce growth, vitality and strength. 


Think back on a recent conversation you had about your pastor, your congregation, or your community—was the conversation positive, supportive, or strengthening? Did you leave thinking, “I cannot imagine why anyone would not desire to join this community?” Or did you leave thinking, “Why would anyone join this community?” Downward spirals can destroy individuals and organizations.

Many great things are happening to the honor and glory of God. Join me in giving thanks to God for the wonderful things God is doing in our lives and in the world.

Grace & Peace,

Max