Transcript Scott Thumma Hartford Institute for Religion Research Being the Church in the Age of the Dispirited.

Scott Thumma Hartford Institute for Religion Research
Being the Church in the Age
of the Dispirited
A Christian Nation of 350,000 Congregations
80% say they are sure there is a God &
belong to a faith group
75% of Americans identify as “Christian”
65% claim an affiliation with a congregation
49% are claimed as adherents by congregations
40% tell surveys they attend weekly
20% of Americans actually attend weekly
And how many of these are involved –
leading and serving?
A Christian Nation?
And in New England?
And in Lutheran New England
Not Quite Dying…
But Needing to Change
Getting Older
Less Appealing to the Young
With More Competition for Their Time
Nearly 70% of US children (age 6-17) play team sports, three
out of four teenagers play at least one team sport.
The time spent on computers by 8-18 year-olds
tripled from 1999 to 2009.
8-18 year-olds average 71/2 hours of entertainment media a day (over 53 hours
a week).
7th-12th graders spend 11/2 hours a day sending or receiving texts.
And Ours
Getting Larger
and smaller…
Megachurch
Proliferation
A weakening of denominational labels and
affiliation within churches
Less Vitality
So how can you thrive as the
Church in the Age of the Dispirited?
Churches Have To Be Wiser…
And Less Wistfully Nostalgic
The Challenge:
Change or die a slow death.
Contemporary Worship
And/or/both Innovative
Embrace Technology
The first step in
Transformative Change is:
“Establish a sense of urgency”
(Leading Change John Kotter)
You must change in order to address
humanity’s quest for meaning and community
– To offer an authentic encounter with God
in this day and age and into the future.
Real Change Requires Rethinking Church
•Think of “church” in less building & worship servicecentric ways.
•Expand what counts as involvement in the
congregation.
•Ask yourself - what do our potential visitors’ value?
•Make faith more meaningful in their everyday lives.
•Be less denominational and more visionary,
progressive, activist – outspoken!
•Do your good works in the world.
•Intentionally create real community.
•Make sure members' time spent in church is
spiritually meaningful.
A Conversation about Change and
Innovation
Scott Thumma
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.hartfordinstitute.org