Good News for Mainline Churches!

For a long time now, I've been hearing how mainline denominations are on their way down with their best years behind them. The statistics of the United Methodist Church bear out this news unfortunately.

A lot of this downward trend is due to the age of our denomination (over 200 years old) and the life cycle that any organization faces after so many years of existence. Church grow consultants who study this reality point to the need for mainline churches to reclaim their original mission which is to reach people outside of the church walls rather than to cater primarily to the internal needs of the congregational members.

This was never more apparent to me than when I was serving in a church appointment in which it was determined after careful study and research that if our church relocated, we would have been better able to reach more people for Christ. Instead, the church voted to not relocate and after a brief surge in growth, it has continued to struggle and decline.

The church members who voted against relocating believed that to do so would not honor past church leaders 70 to 80 years earlier who had sacrificed their time and resources to build the present church building. I found this a curious reason to vote no since those former church leaders had built the new church building because they had decided to relocate to reach a new population of people for Jesus Christ!

This is just one example of many why mainline churches which have been around for a while are on a downward spiral. We have misinterpreted our own church history and we have forgotten our main mission for existence which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of our community and world.

Fortunately, there are examples of mainline churches that are bucking this downward trend. In an article, "Mainline Congregations Can Grow!" Dick Hamm offers four characteristics that are top priorities in growing mainline churches.

1) Lively Worship. Traditional, contemporary, blended, take your pick. The important thing isn't so much worship style but if worship is genuine, authentic, and passionate.

2) A clear sense of mission to real people and a heart for carrying out that mission. This is getting back to my introductory comments above about getting back to our original mission which is to reach the people beyond the church walls.

3) Numerous small groups in which participation is emotionally significant. One rule of thumb is to have 7 small groups for every 100 people in worship. These small groups include, prayer, sharing, a scripture focus of some kind, and outreach. The purpose of the small group is to complement weekly worship and not replace it.

4) A clear sense of vision for the future. Growing churches are on a journey and they look forward to the next opportunity to serve and reach people for Christ.

As a leader in a mainline denomination, Dick Hamm's article is a tremendous encouragement to me because I believe that the mainline church has a lot to offer our community and world. Mainline churches have a strong sense of God's faithfulness over the decades and centuries and they are able to embrace a unique blend of liberal and conservative theologies while emphasizing the primary mission of the church which is to reach people who are in need of God's healing love and grace.

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This all makes for good news for mainline churches!