TIME FOR INTERVENTION: Declining Churches and Faith

May 22, 20221 min read

These are notes from a 2 part series by Bill Marianes

Links for his presentations:

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/stewardshipcalling/time_for_an_intervention_declining_churches_and_faith_part_2

Operational, not theological

Our churches have been suffering for many years, if not decades

· Attendance

· Volunteerism

· Youth engagement

· Giving

· Participation in sacraments and religious education programs

· Stewardship

· Engagement in ministries

Five highlights of empirical data – pre Covid –

1. 47% of cradle Orthodox Christians have left the church according to Pew Research Study in 2015

2. 64% of young adults drop out in their 20’s according to Barnum Study 2019

3. 39% of millennials claim no religious affiliation (nones) according to Public Religion Research Institute

4. 21% of Orthodox members regularly attend church according to study done by the office of Canonical Orthodox Bishops

5. How attentive we are on Sunday? Question – during the Divine Liturgy, other than the homily, is your mind wandering? Answer: 70-80% of the time.

What will happen if we don’t fix our parish problems

1. We’ll be increasingly less effective in bringing our existing parishioners closer to Christ and each other

2. We will not be successful in bringing the light of the word to those who are not Orthodox Christians

3. In blunt terms, by being inactive in addressing our problems, we are signing the eventual death warrant for some of our parishes

6 Root Cause Issues, which together with the comorbitities vex the problems we face in our parishes

1. Vision and planning

2. Leadership and teams

3. Stewardship and generosity

4. Parishioner engagement

5. Ministries

6. Operational effectiveness

For Reflection

We can’t sit back and invite Nones in, we have to go out and get them.

Who do you serve? – Bob Dylan

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