Rob Prince's Blog, page 10

Dear Potential Christmas Eve Worshipper!

Merry Christmas! 

I’m not sure what led you to contemplate coming to the Christmas Eve Candlelight service…

Maybe your grandma invited you to the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at Central Church. Who can say, “no” to grandma?Maybe Central Church is your church, you just aren’t here much these days. Life has become busy and Sunday mornings are a challenge for you.Maybe you saw on social media a picture of last year’s candlelight service and you’ve thought, “That looks pretty neat, I’m going.”Maybe you’ve been thinking about trying out a church service and Christmas Eve seems like a good time to try it (FYI… You’re not wrong).Maybe it’s none of those reasons, still you are planning to join the Christmas Eve Service at Central Church this Sunday at 5PM.

Yahoo! I’m so glad you will be at Central Church. 

I’m biased, super biased, so take this with a grain of salt, but I love our traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Except for Easter (duh!) it’s my favorite service of the year. 

What to Expect: 

A super warm welcome at the door. We’ve got great greeters.A photo booth in the lobby. If you and your family want to take a Christmas picture, say “Cheese.”Another warm welcome by an usher who will hand you an order of the service and ask you to take a candle. Don’t be surprised if you think, “There are nice people at this church.” I think that too.A cozy pew or a balcony comfy seat. They aren’t Lazy boys but still comfortableFriendly worshippers in your aisle Please note: the worshippers in your aisle might be new too, so pretend you are not new and greet them with a smile and “Merry Christmas!”An orchestra rendition of a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song. You’ll love it. Trust me.A lot of carols (join in singing or simply listen. Warning: You’ll probably start singing too. It’s hard not to join in. To quote Buddy the Elf,  “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”)Some brief scripture passages read from Luke 2. The Christmas story, of course. We won’t be reading from the Book of Lamentations on Christmas Eve. A choir and orchestra with a powerful Christmas song. Be prepared for a jaw dropping “Wow!” to come out of your mouth. A cute kids’ Christmas video. Hey, who doesn’t love a cute kids’ Christmas videos?A brief message by yours truly. The common misnomer –ahem– is that “brief” and “sermon” can’t be used in the same sentence, I’ll do my best to change that narrative.Lighting a candle and sing Silent night (see the above Buddy the Elf quote) with a 1200+ of your newest friends. The warm glow in the sanctuary will be one of the most beautiful moments you will experience. No joke, it’s awesome!

Best of all what to expect:

God Almighty (that’s right the Creator of the universe, who came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem, grew to be a man, was arrested, beaten, crucified and buried, then rose on third day, and later ascended to heaven—that God Almighty) will very probably speak to you. Somewhere in the service—maybe in the singing, scripture reading, brief message from your truly (yes, brief) or when you’re singing Silent night—God Almighty will speak to you. Probably not in an audible voice, more likely in a deep-in-your-bones reality. You’ll get a sense that God loves you and wants the very best for you. You’ll get the impression that if God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. It’s a Divine Appointment, God has you on His calendar!

What to do next: 

Be receptive. Be open. Be honest. Be real. Be ready to receive the best Christmas gift ever—Jesus himself! 

Can’t wait to see you on December 24th at 5PM!

I’ll be the guy wearing a jacket, holding a Bible and doing my best to remember the K.I.S.S. Sermon method (Keep It Short, Silly). 

See you soon!

Pastor Rob

P.S. We have an “unplugged” service on Christmas Eve morning at 11AM. No Drums, no candles (except for in the advent wreathe) just a “chill-lax” service led by Pastor Joel Close (and a couple of other Close family members), singing carols and Pastor Jon Gildner keeping us focused on the Prince of Peace. I think you’ll love that service too. 

Christmas’ Color Isn’t Blue, Unless You Are

This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent. It is also called “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice.” This Sunday is the Sunday of joy and as such we light the pink candle—which should make Barbie fans happy. 

Why does Pink represent joy? 

Pink is bright. It’s alive. It’s fun (again according to Barbie fans). Pink is joy.

Before pink, it’s blue. At least around here today. I’m writing this on the occasion of our Blue Christmas service. Blue is not traditionally a Christmas color. Purple is the color of Advent. Red and green are colors associated with Christmas too. People dream of a white Christmas. But Blue?  No, not Blue. Blue represents sadness. “I’m blue” is what we say when we are feeling down or melancholy. We aren’t supposed to be “blue” at Christmas. 

Except that many folks are. 

Last Sunday as the choir was singing, it dawned on me that my dear friend, Lisa who lived with Karla and me for 16 months before her passing in March, would have loved to had been there. She would have been sitting in the front row. Singing her heart out with the choir. Lisa loved music. Any music. All music. So as the choir sang, I looked over at the empty place that Lisa would have occupied and I got a little blue.

I know, Lisa is with Jesus. I’m glad for that. I know that she isn’t in pain and cancer is no more for her. I don’t wish her back. I just remembered the joy that she would have experienced and the joy that she brought to so many people who knew her. I envisioned her arms raised as she lifted her praise loud and long to Jesus. I missed my friend. It made me a little blue.

I think that’s why we have the service tonight. It’s not necessarily to wish our loved ones back (although when they have tragically passed away there may be some of those feelings). The service is meant to acknowledge our loss and to go to Jesus with it. It’s a time when we don’t have to paste on a smile like at an office Christmas party. There is no phoniness about a Blue Christmas Service. It’s just the opposite. It’s a time to be real. Honest. Unguarded. Open. Vulnerable even. It’s a time to cry out to the Lord in our “blue-ness’ and remember with the Psalmist: The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18).

Blue Christmas might be where you are at this year. Or maybe you want to come to the service to simply support those who are going thought a tough season. This year our Blue Christmas service will have a little bit different emotion for me. I’m glad we have such a service. I bet you know someone who could benefit from the Blue Christmas Service too. 

You can read about about our friend and cancer here:

Did Covid Kill the COK (1000+ in attendance) Churches in the Church of the Nazarene?

A year ago, I wrote a blog concerning the Churches of the Nazarene with an attendance of 1000+. The article stated how 51 churches (there are actually 52) in the USA/Canada had at one time averaged 1000+ in attendance, but only 19 churches were still averaging over 1000. The article listed the challenges to maintain a church of 1,000. You can read it here.  

One year later, the 2023 church year statistics have been posted* and the news is much worse. “In person” attendance across the board is plummeting.* No longer are 19 churches averaging 1000+. In 2023, only eleven churches reported having an in-person attendance over 1000. Moreover, only two of the eleven 1,000+ churches reported to “in-person” attendance growth: Lima Community, OH (+176) and Crossroads Cowboy, AR (+130). Only Crossroads Cowboy posted their best attendance year ever in 2023.

In a recent statement on X (formerly Twitter), Carey Neuhoff stated, “The “Stable” Church Is Disappearing. One-Third of Churches Report That They’re Growing, While 54% Are Declining.” It’s worse among the Nazarene churches that once averaged over 1000. Only eleven of the 52 churches reported growth (21.15%). Churches that showed an increase worship attendance are: Crossroads Cowboy (+130); Indianapolis First (+37); Kankakee First (+70); Lake Gibson, FL (+72); Lima, OH (+176); Nashville First (+72); Orlando CenterPoint, FL (+61); Pasadena First, CA (+35), Puyallup, WA (+162); Salem OR (+28), The Woods, MI (+209); and York Stillmeadow, PA (+139). 

Full disclosure: Flint Central Church (where I pastor) reported decline in attendance. In 2022, churches were instructed to include both in-person and on-line worshippers in the tally. In 2023 those two groups of worshippers were separated. Flint Central and other churches, no doubt, declined in attendance in part because of the decision to separate on-line and in-person worshippers (see the highest on-line attendance chart of the 52 churches).

There are 12 USA/Canada Nazarene churches that at one time averaged 2,000+. Last year,  three churches that reported 2000+. In 2023, only Oro Valley, AZ reported an in-person attendance over 2,000. Oro Valley, the largest church in USA/Canada, reported an attendance of 2033 , which was a decline of 557 from 2022. Bethany First saw its attendance dip below 2,000 for the first time in 41 years. Denver First, at one time the largest Nazarene congregation in the world averaging 2555, last year averaged just 306. Likewise, Salem Oregon at one time averaged 2309, last year reported an attendance of 358.

What are the learning points from these numbers?

1) Post Covid In-person attendance is down in most churches (not earth breaking news). The De-Churching of America is happening within the Church of the Nazarene as it is most other denominations. 

2) Even strong healthy churches are seeing their numbers decline. The decline is not necessarily because people are leaving (some are), but rather people are not attending in-person as much as they did pre-Covid.** Worshippers discovered that on-line is convenient. Any other commitment later in the day, a slight sickness or no desire of getting ready for church – are reasons for worshipping on-line. The “responsibility list” may not have changed much, but in-person attendance has changed.

3) Expect 2024 in-person attendance numbers to increase in healthy churches. With the separation of on-line and in-person numbers, and folks in 2023 still not fully returning from Covid, it may be that 2023 was rock bottom for the strong and healthy churches. No longer hampered by pandemic fatigue and re-starting programs and ministries, congregants are trickling back into the healthy churches. An increase (although not at pre-pandemic numbers) will likely occur.

3) On-line worshippers aren’t going away. Nearly every church listed on-line attendance but those numbers varied greatly from the Wooster, OH’s 930 to Lake Gibson, FL listing 16 on-line viewers (two of the 52 churches did not report an online attendance). Either some churches don’t worry about their on-line presence (they should) or they don’t have enough tech people/money to help in this area (more likely). Still on-line numbers matter. Not only is it the new “front door” to the church (most new comers have watched a service online first), on-line viewership is also the new “front pew.” For many “regular attendance” is now regularly watching the service on-line.

4) Covid may have hit the accelerator on the De-churching of America, but more importantly Covid exposed the heart of the church in America. It’s not good. Our discipleship methods have not produced whole-hearted Christ-like disciples. The battle for the heart of the Church of the Nazarene is underway between a “fundamentalist-like,” legalistic brand of holiness and a left-leaning, “progressive” brand. Young clergy (and others) see the in-fighting between these extremist camps and are walking away. Time will tell if the Church of the Nazarene will maintain its historic via media or middle way outlook and presence.

4) A metric change is needed (ironically, this article included). Counting “Noses and Nickels” (attendance and giving) is what historically has mattered. Tallying baptisms, number of people who are actively serving within the church, hours served within the community, and benevolence dollars spent on the needy are the metrics we should be tracking. I wrote about this here.

6) A vision for the new reality is needed for churches to break the 1,000-barrier or regain what was lost. Building a congregation is difficult these days. There are so many competing ideologies in a Post-Christian America, but it is not impossible for churches to grow. Real, authentic, loving, serving, missional congregations are still appealing especially to many millennials who are beginning to rethink their spiritual status. Churches that are appealing are the ones with vision for a better tomorrow. 

7). The 2024 emphasis from USA/Canada to “bless our community” as part of the ”cycle of resurgence” is a good starting point. Dr. Stan Reeder, no doubt, has seen these troubling trends and is making an effort to change the trajectory of the USA/Canada church. Reeder correctly assessed that Nazarenes must get out of their church buildings and into their communities through which ministry can happen and lives can be changed. 

Conclusion: 
Covid did not kill the strongest Nazarene churches, but it has crippled some. There are greater challenges today than ever for churches in USA/Canada. Few churches have totally recovered from the pandemic. The 2024 election cycle will create even more heartache (election years always do). Still, hope lies in what the Spirit of God might do if churches bless their community, believe that Jesus changes everything and are committed to coming together in unity. Hope lies in the old adage: “Bloom where planted.” Local churches authentically loving and serving in their communities is the hope for the Church of the Nazarene’s future just as it was the impetus to growth in the very beginning days of the Church of the Nazarene.

Top In-Person Attendance Churches (1000+ in-person attendance)

1. Oro Valley, AZ (2033)
2. Bethany, OK (1809)
3. Lakeland, FL Highland Park (1547)
4. Goshen, IN Crossroads (1471)
5. Beavercreek, OH Be One (1449)
6. Grove City, OH (1389)
7. Crossroads Cowboy (1365)
8. Olathe, KS College (1231)
9. Cincinnati OH Springdale (1194)
10. Lima, OH (1076)
11. Wooster, OH (1072)

Top Ten On-Line Attendance***

1. Wooster OH (930) 
2. Oro Valley (833) 
3. Be One, OH (828) 
4. Grove City, OH (780)
5. Flint Central, MI (597)
6. Bethany First (594)
7. Lakeland FL Highland Park (586)
8. Pismo Beach, CA (471)
9. Cincinnati OH Springdale (435)
10. Yuba, CA Hope Point (434)

*The 2023 South Florida attendance statistics listed are the exact same numbers as they were in 2022. Clearly those statistics of the former 1000+ churches in South Florida (Bradenton, Miami Bethany and Miami Hialeah Good Shepherd) are not accurate. 

**Giving numbers in the former 1000+ churches for the most part remains high (I didn’t do a thorough assessment of the giving). Antidotally, it seems that church giving has remained relatively constant even as attendance numbers plummet. One reason for this phenomenon is that people have not left a church, but rather their attendance patterns have changed and they continue to give at the same level.

***This list is only a measurement of those churches that at one time averaged over 1000 in attendance. These may be other churches that averaged a higher on-line attendance than those listed.

There Seems to be Some Disagreement about Disagreement

There seems to be some disagreement about disagreement. How much can Christian brothers and sisters disagree and still be in harmony? How much disagreement is OK? Do we have to agree with everything? 

Paul and Barnabas disagreed. Yet they weren’t vilified for their disagreement. Both went on serving Jesus. In so doing, they covered twice the ground for Jesus as they would have had they not disagreed. It seems that these days if we are not in total agreement, then we are in total disagreement. There is little middle ground. There is less “can we agree to disagree” and still be brothers and sisters in Christ?  There is even less “I could be wrong.”

Discerning what is most important is important. Not every issue is a mountain. Many issues are molehills. I seem to remember a General Superintendent (It may have been Dr. Greathouse, but don’t quote me on this) say something along the lines on how not everything  we Nazarenes believe in carries the same weight. For example, he said, “if someone held me at gun point and wanted me to renounce Christ, I’d say, ‘pull the trigger;’ but if someone wanted me to smoke a cigarette or die, I’d say, ‘hand me a lighter.’” Too many times, we view the matter as a “pull-the-trigger” moment, when it should be handled as a “hand-me-the-lighter”  problem.

Discerning the mountains to die on is important. Disagreeing amicably is also important. To say, “I disagree” is not the same as saying “I am no longer wanting to be in fellowship.” It might simply mean, “I’m wrestling with this issue, and we could we talk about it?” Could we have a conversation?” Disagreeing, for the Christian, should never be equivalent to “I hate you and I’ll never talk to you.” Disagreeing should be more of “I wonder why we don’t see eye to eye on this matter? Isn’t that strange? Let’s talk about it, friend.”

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians seems to be what we all need to be praying a little more. “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10.) Let our discernment be driven by an abounding love that allows for knowledge and insight. Through it all, may we strive to be pure and blameless in all we do. That’s a pretty big ask, only through Jesus can it be accomplished. 

If you disagree with anything I have written above, please hand me a lighter, don’t pull the trigger. 

Parable of the Man who went to a restaurant… once (Hint: It’s really about churches)

Once upon a time, there was a hungry man. With no food in his cupboards and some extra cash in his pocket, the hungry man went to a restaurant near his house. He had driven by this restaurant many times, but had never stopped in for a meal. He decided to try it. Big mistake!

When he walked in there was no host or hostess to ask him how many were in his party or if he’s like to be seated. He wasn’t certain what to do. Finally he just sat down. After a very long wait, the food server finally came to his table and was quite rude. He mentioned something about how the man was sitting in “Jerry’s Booth.” “Who’s Jerry?” the man wondered. The menu was confusing and overpriced. When his order finally game, it looked terrible. It smelled and tasted worse. Nothing about this restaurant was good. Nothing. He left a meager tip, paid his bill and left. As he walked out of the door, he said, “I will never eat at another restaurant again. This place was horrible!”  We went home and took an antiacid and had bad dreams all night long.

About a week later, a friend invited the man out to dinner. “Oh no, I can’t go,” he said. “I went to a restaurant once. The service as bad. The prices were high. The food was terrible. I vowed to never go to a restaurant again.”  A few months later another friend invited him out for dinner. “Oh no, I can’t go,” he said. “I went to a restaurant once. The service as bad. The prices were high. The food was terrible. I vowed to never go to a restaurant again.” Other friends asked too. His response was always the same. 

His friends told him, “We won’t go to the restaurant of your bad experience. Not all restaurants are the same. We will go to a good one.”

The man would not budge. “They all serve food that no one can stomach. I’ll never go again!” No one could convince him otherwise. He refused to go to any restaurant to eat, no matter how many friends went or how many good reviews the restaurant received.

The man went to a church once too. It wasn’t good either. He’s not been back.

The moral of the story: No one declares after getting a bad meal at restaurant, that they will never go to any other restaurant again. Instead, they find a good restaurant. It’s the same with churches. There are bad churches. There are good churches. Find a good church. Invite your friends. Make it an even better church. 

The end.

P.S. I’m super biased but Central Church is a really good church. 

Be a Thermostat not a Thermometer

Thermometers tell the temperature.
Thermostats regulate the temperature.
I want to be a thermostat.

I want to turn the heat down, not simply report the heat. Even from a quick purview of social media, it seems that all around me (not at my local church, thank the Lord!) the temperature has been rising over any number of issues. Angst is everywhere. Anxiety, fear, anger and worry drive people into heated corners. People are venting. Rhetoric is high. It’s hot. 

I don’t want to add to the rising social media temperatures. I don’t want to report on every heat-producing juicy detail, and in so doing keep the fires smoldering. I want to be like a thermostat and lower the temperature.

How does one turndown the social media and conversational (read: gossip) heat?

Accept that you don’t have all the facts. You might think you have all the facts, you probably don’t.Acknowledge there are two sides to every story. Usually there are more than two sides.Avoid rumors. Remember the “telephone game” in youth group? It starts with “I love red jelly beans” and after going through several people ends with “There are monkeys in the trees.” In other words, the beginning story and the ending story have nothing to do with each other. It happens in real life. Don’t believe everything you hear. Don’t demonize one another. People can disagree. On pretty big theological and biblical positions, people can differ; but that does NOT make either person a demon. The other may share your eternal accommodations. Be careful to demonize those that Jesus loves.  Limit your social media vacuum. People tend to follow (and so only hear) like-minded people. We all do it. Just acknowledge that good people might disagree with the viewpoint on which you are constantly exposed.Ask yourself: Do my posts, language usage, and tone reflect Jesus or do they add to the heated rhetoric?Above all: Love. Be compassionate, kind, gentle and patient. 

Be a thermostat. Help turn down the heat, don’t add to it. 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

A New Nazarene APR (Annual Pastor’s Report)– Jesus’ Style: Counting What Matters

Every pastor in the Church of the Nazarene must submit an Annual Pastor Report (APR). It contains the financial and attendance data from the previous church year. This data reports valuable information for the denominational research team. While the APR information may be prized to those few people in research labs and PhD candidates, a new APR short form could reflect more of what Jesus told us to track in the local church.* 

The Jesus-inspired APR Short Form would not have worship attendance (Jesus didn’t tell us to gather crowds); it would not include total monies raised (to Jesus, generosity wasn’t determined by the size of the gift. See: the widow’s mite); and it would not include monies spent on buildings (there are no directives from Jesus to build any edifices). Jesus wasn’t overly impressed with money, buildings or crowds. 

What would be included? Jesus’ Great Commission prioritizes baptisms and making disciples. Baptisms are easy to track (who got wet?). Discipleship is harder. Our disciple making matrix has been classroom (small group) learning.  A better determiner of disciples-making is service involvement. Discipleship is caught not taught (although that is an oversimplification. Obviously, teaching is involved). Instead of counting Sunday School (small group) numbers, let’s track the number of people serving in some capacity. The new Jesus versioned APR would reflect baptisms the number of people serving (questions 1 and 2)

In Jesus’ famous judgement day, sheep and goat parable (Matthew 25:31-46), the priorities are feeding the hungry, offering drink to the thirsty; sheltering the stranger; clothing the naked; caring for the sick and visiting the prisoners. In other words, prioritizing the poor and justice matters. Any numbers on a APR should reflect the hours that disciples are in the community and dollars spent on addressing issues of poverty and injustice. (questions 3 and 4).

Here’s what the entire new APR form would look like:

Number of Baptisms
Number of People involved in ministry/service in the church
Number of hours spent in ministry/service in the community
Dollars given to help the poor/needy.

To appease the folks in Lenexa, there could be a box at the bottom of the form with the following question: Did you pay your apportionments in full? Yes or No. (Note: Jesus never told anyone to pay apportionments, but including the question would make the bean counters happy and show a commitment to the denomination).

That’s it.
That’s the form. 
Four numbers to track and one question to answer.

This Jesus-inspired APR short form would be basis on which success and failure are determined and what is highlighted at denominational gatherings. If we get those four numbers right and we focus on just those four things, then all the other numbers on the APR long-form will take care of themselves.

Let’s simplify and prioritize the things that Jesus called us to prioritize. 

*The long form with its bazillion questions (slight exaggeration) could still be collected for the researchers. Somewhere someone might benefit from knowing the number of children enrolled in Caravans (If you have to ask what’s “Caravans” put “zero” in that column), or maybe not.

**This post in no way is a dig at the research team at the Nazarene GMC. They do valuable work, and I deeply appreciate their efforts. The post is directed toward what is most beneficial to the local church and how churches can be laser focused in accomplishing the mission of Christ.

Turn Thanksgiving Upside Down

Thanksgiving week is the week to count your blessings. “Name them one by one. And it will surprise you what they Lord hath done.” At least that’s what John Oatman’s lyrics and Edwin O. Excell tune reminds us to do. (Yes, the Count your Blessings jingle was written by a guy named Edwin O. Excell. Google it. It’s a great name. But I digress…). With apologies to Mr. Oatman and Mr. Excell, what if we did the opposite? What if we looked at all the things for which we are not grateful? What if we counted our troubles and named then one by one. Name all the bad habits, troublesome hang ups, deep hurts and mean people. What if we turned Thanksgiving upside-down?

I’m not Thanksgiving’s version of the Grinch. I like Pilgrims, turkey and Detroit Lions’ football (win or lose). I like being thankful too. My intentions are not to be a “Debbie-Downer” during this festive week. But what if we created a “not-so-thankful” list, and then immediately handed (metaphorically, of course) the list over to God. What if we were to give God all the junk for which we are not pleased with and say, “God this “not-so-thankful” list is now yours and my prayer is that by November 2024 this list is flipped! Instead of bitterness, hurt or anger, I want to be thankful. 

Not thankful for a nasty habit? What if by next year, you and Jesus have defeated it?

Not thankful for some part of your body type, personality, or lack of capability? What if by next year, you learned to appreciate the person God created you to be.

Not thankful for a painful past? What if by next year, you look at your past with sadness, but also with amazement on how God has enabled you to move beyond the pain of your yesterdays and into a joyous celebration of your todays and tomorrows!

Not thankful for a mean or dishonest person?  What if by next year that person grew a big, hairy wart on the end of their nose? No, I’m joking. What if by next year God either changed them or changed your outlook toward them? 

What if your “not-so-thankful” list was turned into next year’s very thankful list? Then (thank you Mr. Oatman and Excell) you will be surprised, pleasantly and joyfully surprised, at what the Lord has done!

Jimbo Fisher’s Buy-Out to Not Coach Football = Nazarene Mission Giving in 2022 (almost).

Did you see that Texas A&M University decided to fire its football coach, Jimbo Fisher, and bought out his contract for 75 million dollars? You read that right. They are paying him 75 million to do what Karla wishes I wouldn’t do, sit on the coach and watch football. A public university is giving a coach (a winning coach by the way) 75 million to go away. Jimbo might not have won enough football games for the Texas A&M fans, but he won the lottery and he didn’t even buy a ticket. I wonder how all the hard-working professors, class room aids, and janitors in Texas A&M Aggie-land feel about an idle football coach making slightly more than they do (by “slightly,” I mean more than they will ever earn in their entire life). If you need evidence we live in a crazy world with mixed up values, consider this “Exhibit A.”

Take a wild guess of how much Nazarenes worldwide in 2022 gave to missions?  

$75,482,018 

Nazarenes gave about the same amount for missions as what Jimbo Fisher will get for sitting on his couch twiddling his thumbs. 

$75,482,018 was given by Nazarenes to pay the salaries for missionaries all over the world, to establish medical clinics, schools and pay for a hospital in Papua New Guinee. It paid for emergency relief to disasters through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. It paid for churches to be built; radio broadcasts to be made; and help to be offered in literally thousands of ways. It paid for the world-wide effort (well, in 164 countries effort) to evangelize and show and tell the world about Jesus. $75,482,018 did a whole lot of good.

It’s hard to raise $75 million dollars for missions. Back in the day in the Church of the Nazarene, there were two big offerings that funded the world-wide mission effort: The Thanksgiving and Easter Offerings. That was it. Typically pastors would stand in the pulpit on the Sunday before Thanksgiving (this Sunday) and encourage mission giving. Pastors would say stuff like, “The Bible talks about tithes AND offerings. Bring your tithe which will fund the local church AND bring an offering to be given for missions.” There were special Thanksgiving envelopes provided by the denomination and everything. The Thanksgiving Offering was a big deal. It was a reminder that we need to be generous toward missions. Some churches still receive a Thanksgiving offering this week (our Mission Outreach Sunday was in October when we took pledges for mission giving). All are efforts to raise around $75 million. 

I don’t know what Jimbo Fisher is going to do with his $75 million. I hope he tithes to his local church. I hope Jimbo is generous and does good with his money, but it won’t come close to doing all the good that is being done around the world with virtually that same amount of money. I hope you are generous with your slightly less than $75 million (by “slightly” I mean a lot less). Whether you have a little or a lot the Paul writes, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7. 

How to Get the “Never Attending” People to Jesus

According to the US census bureau, the number of people who acknowledge attending a weekly religious service has gone down slow but steady since 2008. But those who disclosed that they never attend church has risen dramatically (see graph).

This explains the decline in attendance in most churches. The “regulars” are coming (although not quite as regularly); the “once-in-a-whiles” are not coming at all. 

Why did the “some-timers” become “no-timers”? Studies will show that there is not a single factor which has led to this decline in the de-churching of America. There are plenty of reasons. Some valid. Some not. 

Here’s the problem: If people have this life to determine their eternal accommodations, then there is no time for a detailed review of all the variants and subset reasons why the “some-timers” became “no timers.” Let the PhD candidates wrestle with those questions in their doctoral research projects. In the meantime, the situation is more like a building fire than a specimen to be examined. We are not afforded the time for analyzing the circumstances that led to the fire; it’s time to rescue the perishing (wasn’t there an old hymn by that name?). It’s time to go on the offensive. But how do we do that? How do people who have never come or don’t want to come or who have been hurt in the past by the church start coming or come back to church (and discovering Jesus)? 

The attractional method stopped working. “Build it and they will come” doesn’t work either. Christmas Cantatas, bus ministries, and cold calling on neighbor’s doors armed with the four spiritual laws might be met with someone armed with a Colt 45.  Most of the things that worked pre-2000s don’t work today, yet churches still want to play by the 1990’s rule book.

What works? Relationships work. Love works. Getting the church into the community, not asking the community to come into the church. That works. Blessing the community in as many ways as possible works.  Many in the world don’t think they need the church (or Jesus), it’s time for the church to show the world all the good and love the church (and Jesus) provides. When the church does that– it’s beautiful. It’s attractive. “No-Timers” become “One-timers,” then as they see authentic love within the pews, the “once-in-a-blue-moon-timers,” discover Jesus (or rediscover Jesus) and become, glory upon glory, “all-most-always timers.” 

Reversing the downward trend is as simple as Jesus instructions, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  It’s living into Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For Christ’s love compels us.” As we are compelled to bless our community with Real, Authentic, Love—they will see Christ and His Bride in their beauty and return once more.