Monday, December 29, 2008

given a purpose to grow.

If you go to google there will be a good debate over what the top ten religions are (size wise) but what there is not a whole lot of debate over is one of the fastest growing religions.

Islam.

While most people will nod to this 'fact', it is also something that will make your skin crawl. A lot of people (or maybe just me) still question why this religion is capturing so many people who are seeking. Christianity continues in most circles to be the largest organized religion, it is also the most criticized and is possibly atrophying(in the US anyway). Why can you see these obvious growth trends? Why is Christianity loosing people, even to the likes of Islam and the LDS church?

I can give two simple reasons that I see within the body of Christ as to why this is true (and to why Christianity is growing so rapidly in places like China).

REASON and ACTION

These two play heavily into your volunteer base as a church, especially youth ministry and student volunteers. Muslims and Mormons both put much action to their faith, Muslims albeit radicals see a jump in growth because of the action taken to their faith through jihad and their practices. Mormons are extremely active in converting people and reaching out. Most Christians sit on their hands. So you wonder why people end up falling by the wayside. I don't have an explicit answer on how to get people actively involved in their faith, and how to keep them there, honestly there are not enough tasks to fit every person's unique abilities and keep everyone involved all of the time. But there does need to be opportunity for people to put action to their faith.

Faith without works is dead.

If it wasn't for opportunities to serve, to make my faith real and to work out for myself why I believed what I believed I could have very easily fallen into the apathetic Christian column. In youth I worked in drama, in college I was not involved and could care less about church, when I graduated I became so involved in tech and ministry that it finally clicked. I cannot make my relationship with Christ work on my own. I cannot sit and read or pray myself into submission to Christ and his will, only through working out my faith can I find out my purpose in Him and through ACTION I not only put motion to my faith but put proof to my faith to others.

Islam gives action to their faith, Mormon's give action to their faith, Catholics give action to their faith (yeah penance and confession is action).

So what opportunities are you giving people to give action to their faith? I think we can cut the attrition rate by giving opportunities to serve. Traditionally the 'christian' church is a sit and gorge buffet. Then you go and live your life to cycle back to Sunday and do it all over again. Christ never intended you to sit on your butt and play church. Work with church members to find their fit. So they're not technical, make sure that they make it into another ministry. So they can't teach or aren't a people person but maybe they can push buttons like no body's business. You also have to take into account that this is on their free time, so gratitude is in order for even the smallest task.

The other part to attrition in the church is REASON. Most people don't know why they believe what they're told to believe. It plays into ACTION very well, because in order for people to put motion behind their faith they need to know why they're doing it. This goes back to youth ministry as well, start young. If you give kids a REASON to put ACTION to their faith they have a much greater possibility of staying connected to their faith after they graduate.

I see so many kids week in and week out who struggle with who they are and why they show up on a weekly basis. Most of them are forced to church by their parents and have no more REASON to be there than the next person. Stop teaching the prosperity gospel, stop teaching 'love' (clarification: by love I mean teaching that all there is to Christ is love, and that it's all fluffy feel good stuff) and begin giving people the foundation behind their faith, there is such a thing called sin. That is why we're stuck in such a degenerate world. Why is the Bible true? Why is God who he says he is? Science v. Creation, is there a difference?

I'm proud to be part of a ministry that is giving kids these answers and the traction to their faith, albeit this is something that is very difficult to keep on top of.

Statistically those who are involved and take ownership of something stay involved, this is true for just about anything you apply it to, whether school, sports, family or church. How can we increase our volunteer base to give people ownership of their faith? What opportunities in the church are we not exploiting to give people an opportunity to serve?

What is the REASON and ACTION behind your faith?

*edit*
What is it that motivates my life to action?
It's something that is hard to put words to because I just came to a place where I knew that is what I had to do.

I guess to put some words to it is the knowledge that I am doing what Christ wants me to do spurs me on. My service is my act of worship.

Once the action was in place, to the point where I was consistently serving I felt more of a practical connection to what I believed. It is my purpose to help lead others in worship through tech and to train others and give them the opportunity to do the same.

I'm not necessarily sure how to translate that to others though except for living it out, and praying I inspire others to the same. It is more of the spirit living in you, and pouring out through what you do. Some people figure out their calling the moment they're saved, some people are called to just be Christians where they're at. Me, I fought being called to ministry. I just came to a point one day for no particular reason where it made sense and I surrendered to whatever and wherever I was sent.