Deceased Church Outline

I chose to do my religious ethnographic study at my home church, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio on Sunday, May 8, 2016. Tabernacle is an 112-year-old historic Black Baptist church located on the lower Northside of Youngstown surrounded by a mixed income housing development, homeless shelter, Youngstown State University, and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. I would say the average age of a Tabernacle member is 55 years old. About 70% of the members at this church are “middle-class” families. Until about five years ago, its membership was almost exclusively middle class. There has seen an influx of membership in working class individuals and students since the arrival of Tabernacle’s young, vibrant pastor, Rev. Christopher McKee, Jr., three years ago. The church is attentive to the needs of this demographic but remains true to its historic Black Baptist church roots. The church previously struggled with this conundrum until it came to the reality that an exclusivist mindset around worship is detrimental to the body of Christ when it did not have a pastor for over three years. The church was dying because no one was welcome to it and it did not have a leader. Though it was difficult, this reassessment was beneficial in making Tabernacle more relevant and welcoming to the community it is blessed to serve.

This megachange, makes people desperately to look for a secure place to keep changes away; a kind of safe heavenly place where the past will dwell forever. Robert Dale put it in this way: “Change, often viewed as a threat to traditional forms of faith, causes some churches to sprint frantically back into the past in search of security”. . Unfortunately, more churches preferred to choose the path leading to stagnation and slow death rather than to rise up and to reconsider their unique function in the world.

These surveys show that church leaders have a great challenge ahead of them in order to prevent people from leaving church. They have to be more effective and have to think of creative ways to retain people in the churches.

In Chapter 1, Bibby claims there are two reasons for the decline of weekly churchgoers. The first reason was because of a shift in immigration patterns, and secondly was the change of mindset of religion led by the baby boomer generation (p. 14). In the immigration patterns area, Bibby explains that Protestant religion has been losing its so-called immigration pipeline (immigrants from other countries whom are Protestant coming over), therefore number of newcomers has declined. In reference to the baby boomer generation, described in Chapter 2, Bibby explains it simply: “by the 1970s the number of active members who were dying out numbered the people who were taking their places” (p.15). As pipeline was going down, birth rates were too, and then with rise of baby boomers stakes were even higher for decline in religion. Baby boomers in the 60s brought with it four cultural trends: From Dominance to Diversity, From Obligation to Gratification, deference to discernment, and from homes to careers (p. 18-28). All four of these trends helped to significantly reshape religion. The aftermath on a positive note,

To be a successful church the author states that the church should function and relate to the people’s culture that the church is located within.

 A church’s history mirrors the souls of its people. It reflects their longings and struggles, their frustrations and sorrows, their joys and successes. And it tells of their leaders, those who led them from hopes and dreams to reality. First Mt. Calvary Baptist Church

He is also able to reach the younger unchurched people in the area. He has begun to set things in motion again, causing the church to develop a heart and a desire to reach the local community with the gospel of Jesus. He has revamped the mission statement that now provides direction and purpose for the members. He has a vision to develop disciples who make disciples. He and his wife have started to invest in the lives of younger adults in their congregation. They are building leaders who will be able to lead others, equipping them for ministry.

According to research done over the years, most churches, once formed, hit the ground running only to decline after a period of time. there are many reason as to why this happens. This is one of the concerns for the “Comeback Churches” by Ed Stetzer and mike Dodson. Typically, many of the churches start very strong. They go ahead and have good periods of growth but later find themselves declining and finally losing members.

• What do you see in today's local church that is similar or different from the early church?

Hillcrest Baptist Church is a body of believers located in a small mid-west city that has experienced double-digit growth for the past nine years. Over the course of the last forty-two years, God has allowed only three senior pastors to serve. The longevity of the pastorates contributes to the strong lay leadership and positive community reputation. On the surface, Hillcrest appears very healthy. A survey of the average congregants would record this overall disposition. Numerical growth and vibrant services contribute to the attitude of satisfaction. Contrariwise, the systems and structure of the organization pose a serious threat to the continuation of expansion and vitality.

What are the national demographics of your community? Who lives here? What are their hurts? What are their dreams? Where do they spend their time? What is the mission to serve community? What steps is the church taking to fulfill its mission to serve the community? Who have you built relationship with who do you desire to build relationship with? Within the next 3, 5, 10 years where do you

During this week, I read an interesting book “Big four” wrote by Dr kidder. This reading assignment helps me see how the ministry can be fruitful when you are willing to commit your life to Christ completely.in the beginning of this book he point out the two things that every members desired about church. The thought church is an exciting place to do ministry and experience the grace of God in community.in addition, the want their church to be a place where people can find they love of Jesus Christ.

According to Bill Hull, “While certain pockets of evangelicalism have grown, overall, the church is in a decline. Many congregations can attest to Hull’s assessment, in that, churches in America are indeed experiencing sharp declines in its numbers of baptisms and church attendance. Over

Pope Francis was encountered with a church experiencing loss of client involvement, reduction in attendance, and in some marketplaces adverse business development. There

It may seem as if a pastor is wasting their time helping others with their problems. It may also seem as if they are involved in too much busy work. However, everyone who attends the church has a function to help make it either run smoothly otherwise everyone will feel the effects of its decline. Pastors must be attuned to the nature and atmosphere of the church. They are the ones who keep the faithful seeking more and the new Christians thirsting for more knowledge. All of this is done through God. The times may change but one thing remains the same,