Linda Bobbitt Researcher Project Manager Congregational Vitality Project Presented at Hartford Seminary November 2015 Are ELCA churches fulfilling their purpose Purpose Theological imperative ID: 657227
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Slide1
Vitality of ELCA congregations from FACT
Linda Bobbitt
Researcher/ Project Manager
Congregational Vitality Project
Presented at Hartford Seminary November 2015 Slide2
Are ELCA churches fulfilling their purpose?
Purpose: Theological
imperative
Great Commandment: (Matt 22:34-40
)
Great
Commission: (Matt. 28:16-20)
Its about building relationships with
God
Each other
World
Congregations fulfilling their purpose are vital.
Vitality is the primary objective of the church. Growth is the secondary objective.
Growth
without vitality is
meaningless,
Vitality without growth is short lived. Slide3
Measuring Vitality with the FACT survey
FACT Vitality Scale
God:
worship is - filled with a sense of God’s presence, nurtures people’s faith, is inspirational, and joyful. Congregation -
spiritually alive, clear mission/purpose, willing to change Each other: caring and supportive of members with needs, incorporate new membersWorld: living out one’s faith in all aspects of daily life, working for social justice, talking with friends and others about faith
Scale Reliability
r
=.86
Mean = 3.8
Standard deviation
=
.52Slide4
ELCA Distribution
554 CongregationsSlide5
ELCA Distribution of Grades
A= 4.5+
B= 4.0 - 4.4
C= 3.0-3.9
D=<3.0
Response options
5
(a lot, very well, strongly agree)
4
(quite a bit, quite well, agree)
3
(some or neutral)
2
(a little, disagree)
1
(not at all or strongly disagree)Slide6
Worship attendance 2014 x vitality
D
C
B
AAverage Attendance
63
111
151
176Slide7
Vitality & Growth
Differences not significantSlide8
Financial health todaySlide9
Leadership x vitality
Pastors the same age (
ave.
55 yrs.) & gender (68% male)
Number of pastors, FTE varied by size not vitalityCongregations under 50 with PT were no less vital than FT pastorSlide10
Worship activities
Differences not significantSlide11
Worship description (largest service)Slide12
Involvement in programs outside worshipSlide13
RecruitmentSlide14
Accountability for active participation and faithful livingSlide15
Recruiting lay leaders
No difference in cong. worshiping 101-350.
Cong < 50 or > 350, As had no problem
Cong 50-100, Most were challenged but Ds often couldn’t find peopleSlide16
ConflictSlide17
Attitude about changeSlide18
What hurts changeSlide19
What hurt change – other explored
D
: poor lay leadership, patriarchs, racism, voted to close
C
: lay people (busy, complacent, tired, disagree, entrenched, unwelcoming, poor lay leadership, unwelcoming, old, wrong priorities, core group) disagree about direction, lack permeant clergy, poor past pastors, tension, liberal nature of ELCA
B
:
lay people (lack
lay leadership, core
group, fear
, apathy,
disinterest), misconduct
of pastor or staff, lack of pastor, small size, rural, doing too much, lacked synod supportA: long history of “country club” ecclesiologySlide20
What helped your congregation change?Slide21
What helped change -other
D:
fired
the pastorC: Intentional interim, good leadership (lay, clergy), Redevelopment training, built new building after ours burned down, change in pastors and/or staff, recession ending, emphasis on God & discernment B: ELCA 2009 vote added members, new pastor, vision planning, recovering from conflict, community input, merged with other cong., repaired
facility
A
: Lay leaders, pastoral leadership, specific models, finances,
emphasis on God &
discernment, willing to change Slide22
Future outlookSlide23
Conclusions
Vital Churches:
Come in many sizes
Worship is reverent, thought provoking and innovative, and often traditional.
They go through conflict but change as needed. Most ELCA churches are not especially vital (C)They think they are doing okay. Adults participate little beyond worship and do little recruitment.They know they need to change but can’t change fast enough. Nothing listed helps much with change. Barriers include resources, lack strong lay or pastoral leadership, lack of models and lack of vision, lack of urgency.Slide24
Implications & Questions
How
can
the ELCA celebrate
vitality in all its forms? How can we support congregations at different levels of vitality – keeping some vital and improving vitality of others?What kinds of interventions might mobilize lay leaders for change? How is God molding the church for the new age and how must our structures adapt?