Recently, our presbytery "celebrated" the closing of another congregation.  This congregation happened to be the congregation in which, years ago, the Vacation Bible School movement was born.  I've placed "celebrated" in quotes because there were many events in the life of that congregation worthy of celebration.  For many generations, the congregation served God faithfully.  Nevertheless, "celebrated" must be in quotes for whenever a congregation dies, it is also a time for mourning.
 
Why did that congregation die?  I can't say.  My best guess is that, like so many small rural communities, the Presbyterians simply moved away.  We've seen this in Monmouth.  The "Presbyterian Demographic" is not what it was 50 years ago, let alone 150.  We see this most clearly at the college, but there are signs elsewhere in the community.   How many students, faculty, administrators and staff have come to Monmouth College in the last ten years having been Presbyterian somewhere else?  Not many.  Certainly, not as many as were there 50 years ago.  How many "professionals" grew up in, or came to, Monmouth as Presbyterians?  We still have a few bankers and lawyers, some retired.  However, I know of only three doctors, two of which are members of our congregation.  The one who is not is married to a Presbyterian minister serving in Macomb.  My apologies, if I have forgotten anyone.  My point is simply, our community is not the Presbyterian community it once was.  To the extent this is true throughout our presbytery, it is no wonder, so many of our congregations  are no more.
 
What can we do?  We can resign ourselves to dying, sooner or later.  The world has turned.  The Presbyterian Church has run its race.  God will find new ways to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.   For obvious reasons, I do not find this to be a satisfactory option.  Conversely, we can jetison anything that makes us distinctly Presbyterian.  Be all things for all people.  I can't say I find this a satisfactory option either.  Sure, we would pack this place with a few slot machines and bingo on Sunday morning, but is that who God is calling us to be?
 
What, then, are we to do, if we want to be a growing Presbyterian church?  One option, of course, is to call a charismatic preacher, someone so gifted in preaching people will find their way to the church simply to hear her/him.  The best of this lot, think Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, etc. are probably commanding salaries well over $250,000/year.  In our tradition, the "best" preachers are well into the $100,000 - $150,000 range.   While this is probably not an option given our current resources, there may be those who would be able/willing to invest in such a preacher, if the time was right, so the option has to be mentioned.
 
What other options do we have, if we are not able to "buy" a growing church?  One option is to teach people to be Presbyterian again.  Over the past two or three generations, we have seen a significant decline in the commitment of our churches, families and church related colleges, to teaching people how to be Presbyterian.  Churches have chased after relevance rather than faith.  Familes are being torn in countless directions, not realizing the peace that would come from being centered in the church.  Our colleges have, too often, chosen to become vaguely spiritual rather than distinctly Presbyterian.  Growing Presbyterian churches are those who value being Presbyterian churches and have made a commitment to teach their children, and others, the value of being people of faith who are Presbyterian.  If we are to be a growing Presbyterian church, we will need to work with our familes, and the college, to discover new and effective ways to teach people to love being Presbyterian, again.
 
Which brings us to the "E" word - "Evangelism".  The future of our congregation is directly related to our ability to do evangelism.  Are we willing to go into our community, more than we ever have before, and proclaim the love of God we have come to know in Jesus Christ?
 
We are doing this in many ways, which is why we are a stable church and not a dying church.  Nevertheless, if we are to become the growing church that, I believe, God would have us become, we must embrace God's call to do evangelism.  There are some signs that we may be ready to do this.
 
Over the past two or three years, I have witnessed a good number of new people taking on leadership roles in our congregation.  When these new leaders are paired with those who have been serving our congregation faithfully for many years, it suggests that, perhaps, God is preparing us for growth.  On Sunday, we placed "You're Invited to Faith United" Homecoming Sunday invitations in the bulletin.  Those present were charged to take the invitations home and ask God what they were to do with them (e.g., keep them as a reminder that Homecoming Sunday is coming up; give them to someone who hasn't been in church for a while; or, give them to a neighbor, friend, or stranger who does not have a church home).  Eighty percent of those present took the cards home!  I am hoping, over the next few weeks, we can distribute all of the cards.  Regardless of how many people show up for Homecoming Sunday because we did this, the fact that so many of our congregation were open and willing to participate in this act of discernment is a good sign.
 
People of faith, I believe God not only desires our congregation to grow, but is preparing us to do so.  The question is, will we participate in what God is doing in our life together?  Will we make our life together a priority in our lives?