In 1823, when three congregations met to form the Diocese of Georgia, there were approximately 390,000 people living in the state with 131 Episcopal communicants, for a ratio of one in 2,977 of the population being an Episcopalian. By 1840, we had grown to 323 communicants, and that ratio was one in 2,141. A decade later, we had 874 communicants and so had in that first decade with a Bishop of Georgia closed the ratio to one in 1,036.

At the time the state was split into two dioceses in 1907, the state of Georgia's population was approximately 2.5 million with 8,524 communicants for a ratio of one in 293 people. In 1921, the combined communicants of the Dioceses of Atlanta and Georgia were 11,057 at a time when the population was 2,925,800 for a ratio of one in 246 persons in the state being an Episcopal communicant.

In 1956, Bishop Stuart (pictured at right) reported 1,321,498 in population with 13,000 members of churches of the Diocese, for a ratio of one in 102. In 2010 census, the population of the 78 counties which represent the boundaries of the Diocese of Georgia, the population was 2,207,156 with 13,420 communicants in good standing that same year for a ratio of one in 164. Now we know communicants (which should refer to those who have worshipped at least 3 times in the previous year) is not the best number, but I use it as it is consistent with the number given by our earlier Bishops.

With a diocesan wide Average Sunday Attendance of 5,779 in ASA in 2013 for that same 2.2 million people, this means while we have more communicants one in 381 people living within the bounds of the Diocese are in worship in an Episcopal Church on Sunday.

A Surprising Opportunity
Most people are said to have about 150 friends and close acquaintances. We're not talking Facebook friends, but folks you know on sight well enough to speak to and with whom you share some connection. These are your 150 co-workers and friends. Sound high? How many Christmas cards did you send and how many people received each card? That's before you count everyone.

If 1 in 381 were in church this past Sunday and each of those folks had this many connections (even allowing for many friends being far afield and many including others in the church), our current reach is more than we imagine.

Like Sharing a Restaurant or Book Recommendation
This corner of the Body of Christ can make a huge impact in the lives of those folks who are in easy driving distance of our churches who have yet to experience our worship. If we could be as enthusiastic about the Word and Sacrament we experience in worship as we are about the new restaurant we discovered or the novel we just read, we would have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who really need what we offer.