Study guide
By Robert C. Blezard
Getting creative: Time to be clever E
ven before the economic melt- down of 2008, many Lutheran churches were having difficulty
meeting budgets and maintaining membership, but the continued reces- sion has certainly worsened matters. It’s challenging us to find new and creative ways to survive, first, and then to thrive.
Exercise 1: The ‘good old days’ Share memories and stories of your congregation’s “good old days.” What made them good? Are they better than today? What happened? To what degree does your congrega- tion’s good old days blind members from appreciating the positive things of today? Might the old days be a hin- drance to realizing the opportunities of today? Can clinging to the good old days prevent a congregation from adapting to today’s environment? How can your congregation use the energy of the good old days to shape a future for tomorrow?
Blezard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Arendtsville, Pa. He has a master of divinity degree from Boston University and did subsequent study at the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.
Exercise 2: Vital signs Chart your congregation’s “vital signs” over the last 20 years by look- ing at its trend reports on the ELCA website (
www.elca.org) and your church’s archived annual reports. Discuss: How have your congrega- tion’s membership, average atten- dance and giving changed over time? What reasons can you cite for the changes? If nothing different is done, where are the vital signs likely to be 20 years from now? What can your church do about it?
Exercise 3: Community shifts Many Lutheran churches are out of sync with the demographic changes that have taken place in their commu- nities. Is yours?
Ask half of your group to study your worshiping congregation for sev- eral Sundays to determine the approx- imate mix of ages, ethnicity and eco- nomic groups of those present. Have the other half study the same thing of the people they see in supermarkets, gas stations, libraries and other places in town over the same period. Then compare notes: What are the
differences between the community’s and congregation’s makeup? How and when did they get out of sync? What explains the difference? What can your congregation do about it?
Exercise 4: Coping with stress To handle budget gaps, many congre- gations make quick fixes that provide temporary relief but may hinder the church’s long-term recovery. For instance, cutting staff hours may diminish church life or selling prop- erty may limit future growth. What specific steps has your congregation taken to cope with a shrinking budget? What may be the unintended conse- quences of those steps on the church’s future? What would be better options?
Exercise 5: Mission minded Does your congregation’s mission statement fit your current ministry needs and cultural environment? When was it drafted? Read the state- ment over and discuss whether it still fits. Using old meeting minutes and other historical materials, determine the thinking behind it. If people who drafted the statement are still in the
congregation, ask them to explain. Do the underlying assumptions still hold? Are the needs pressing the church now the same as then? Should the statement be updated? If so, why not suggest it to the congregational coun- cil and volunteer your study group to lead the effort?
Exercise 6: Your church’s purpose Why do your members come to your church? Is a church supposed to be a club? For your members, what is the unspoken purpose for your church? What ought it be? Chapter 4 of your congregation’s constitution begins: “The church is a people created by God in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, called and sent to bear witness to God’s creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world.” This chapter enumerates ways in which your congregation ought to live out this purpose.
Read the chapter and discuss for
each section: Do we do this? How well? Sufficiently well? How could we better do this? Would revitalizing your church’s purpose help its future?
Exercise 7: Community anchors Some churches drift away from their communities because they lack vehicles of interacting with people outside of worship. Church schools, day-care centers, food pantries, coun- seling and other services help a con- gregation connect with people who don’t necessarily come for worship. What are the ways your congregation interacts with the wider community? Does it need more? What are ways your congregation could find more “anchors” in the community?
This study guide excerpt is offered as one example of the more than 300 that are currently available on The Lutheran’s website. Download guides—free to print and Web subscribers—at
www.thelutheran.org (click “study guides”).
28 The Lutheran •
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