State of the Church A Presentation
May 20, 2024
Rev. Allen V. Harris
To view the video of this presentation, please go to our YouTube Channel and watch here: https://www.youtube.com/live/aoFgm1ICNkA?si=2qyF-77Qd8jBIQ1S
To download the slides as a PDF click HERE.
TRANSCRIPT:
[SLIDE 2]
As we begin I want to make sure you know about my sermon earlier today which was livestreamed and is available on our YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/ldUVMrMrk7A?si=WEAWV5aOQBxZkj7G. It presents the state of the church from a more faithful and theological vantage point. I also want to urge you to watch the State of the Church address by our General Minister and President, the Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, offered at the General Board Meeting in April which provides a much better understanding of the church from her unique position. You can find it on the Disciples of Christ page on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jeJHhORN4&t=6s
[SLIDE 3]
Even though this presentation is focused more on details and numbers, we still must begin with what I think is the most important thing to remember in and through and after it all: God is in charge!
In this affirmation, I celebrate two things:
Faith in God and Jesus Christ is alive and well in our day… it just isn’t always lived by the people or in the places we expect or lived out in the ways that are familiar to us.
And…
The Church, which is the very Body of Christ, will exist as long as God needs it to, it just will not be expressed in forms that we can yet even imagine.
This is both exciting and humbling.
[SLIDE 4]
Let’s Be Honest
Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers the famous children’s television advocate and personality, is credited with saying: “Whatever is mentionable is manageable.” So, let’s mention the hard truths so that they will be more manageable.
Like almost anything in this life, we cannot make improvements or move forward until we have clarity about the current situation and where we are today. The church is no different and an honest reckoning is very much needed today in the mainline Protestant Church, even if that honest assessment is especially painful and disheartening.
[SLIDE 5]
The state of our congregations
The primary reason for the existence of the Regional Church and the General Church is to help local congregations and other faith communities make real the Gospel of Jesus Christ to individuals, families, and communities.
[SLIDE 6]
ALEX is the name of the program and processes that we as Disciples of Christ can use to not only gather data of our congregations and membership, but to use this data now to be able to begin to do some critical research on our congregations, our Regional Churches, and this the entire denomination. This illustrates the critical importance of congregations filling out their annual yearbook reports and entering their weekly attendance into the system. This is not because I or anyone wants to get into their business, but so that we can have real data upon which to make wise decisions.
[SLIDE 7]
Reverend Owens in her state of the Church address does a little more of a deep dive into the denomination wide numbers, but here are a few helpful data points:
2023 Yearbook
Total number of 2,887 congregation listed (57% Reported for 2023)
Average Worship Attendance– of those reporting:
- 1-50 – 64%
- 51-150 – 30%
- 151-350 – 4%
- 351+ - 1 %
Congregation by age: 45% are between 75-150 years
Clergy with Standing: 5,883 (Active – not retired – 3,717)
[SLIDE 8]
When we turn to the Christian Church in Ohio, here are some helpful pieces of data and information to know where we are honestly today: (again, this is only from those who reported)
Median attendance from 2020 to 2023 has gone from 48 to 45, the average number of participating members has changed from 185 to 163, and the average total membership of congregations has dropped from 237 to 187.
[SLIDE 9]
In the same time period, the Christian Church in Ohio went from 151 congregations total in 2020 to 139 by the end of 2023. I will say more about this in a minute. In 2020 88 reported and in 2023 90 congregations reported their data to ALEX. Thank you to all those who did the good and hard work to make this happen! In 2020 we had 114 congregations somehow connected (i.e. who reported and/or gave to a Disciples of Christ offering) and in 2023 101 congregations were connected.
[SLIDE 10]
2024 and my ministry as your Regional Pastor has been marked by a significant number of congregations closing and withdrawing from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This trend spans denominations and is even being felt in the evangelical and independent traditions. As of this writing eight Christian Church in Ohio congregations have closed since I arrived in April of 2021 (one of those closed previously but had not been reported until this year) and one additional congregation has voted to close and will do so by the end of the summer. In addition, two congregations have sold their historic buildings but continue to worship and another has voted to do the same in the next year. Again, as of this writing eight congregations have officially left the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the last three years, although three of those had done so previous to my arrival but had not been recorded as such. There will certainly be others to come as we work through our directory of churches one by one and try to mend the frayed covenant due to the lack of contact we have had with and from our churches. We will surely discover more closures or withdrawals of which we were not aware.
[SLIDE 11]
The state of lay leaders
[SLIDE 12]
I must begin by saying clearly that I have witnessed a deep and abiding faithfulness in Christ and profound dedication to the Church in lay leaders in our churches. While it is not universal and there certainly are some exciting exceptions to the rule, I think it is fair to say the membership in our congregations are showing several clear trends that will not surprise anyone watching this address. The first is that membership is growing smaller, and therefore there are fewer and fewer people to draw from for leadership, especially new leaders. Membership is growing older, and therefore less mentoring is happening. What this means is that more and more leadership roles are being passed around to the same people who’ve done it before, and sometimes times. No time off means less creativity and more resentment. It also means many of our congregations are not fulfilling the requirements of their governing documents, like constitutions and bylaws, and the vast majority feel horrible about this or force themselves to fulfill the letter of the law, forgetting that the spirit of these documents was less about numbers and more about Representation and shared leadership.
Many of our lay leaders are exhausted, frazzled, disenchanted, and have lost their passion for the church, especially when it feels all the energy is going into just doing church and not experiencing the joy and excitement they felt when they first joined the church.
[SLIDE 13]
If I could give one gift to our leaders, it would be to give them permission to not worry so much about following the unfulfillable requirements of a constitution and bylaw, and think more about focusing their energy, gifts, and abilities in order to help the church do what it does best: build community to fulfill Christ mission in the world. Governance documents should never be set aside or ignored lightly, of course, but if done well with everybody’s voice considered, reimagining processes and leadership needs can be life-giving.
[SLIDE 14]
The state of our clergy
[SLIDE 15]
Again, our clergy are incredibly faithful, creative, persistent, dedicated, and aware
But like our lay leaders, they are exhausted, frazzled, and overextended. But I believe they are also feeling especially embattled, uninspired, overextended, and uncertain about their place in the church as it now is. Many of our finest clergy are leaving congregational ministry for chaplaincy or non-profit roles, or are leaving the church entirely, especially younger clergy and women in ministry.
[SLIDE 16]
Intersection: Search & Call
The critical intersection of the state of our lay leaders and the state of our clergy is most obvious during times of pastoral transition: what we designate as the search and call process. When I arrived in 2021 there were 26 congregations actively in search and call, and at the most there were 28. Currently there are 8 churches actively seeking new pastoral leadership.
The process is taking longer, there are fewer candidates available, and matches are harder.
This is beyond the Christian Church in Ohio, and is in all denominations.
[SLIDE 17]
Because clergy, especially newer and younger Clergy, have witnessed generations of pastors either overextend themselves in ministry or be taken advantage of by well-meaning but naïve congregational leaders, they have sworn they will not let this continue. Thus, they are requiring fairer and more comprehensive compensation packages, especially salaries and benefits that acknowledge how uniquely hard it is to be a minister in today’s world.
Likewise, they are choosing congregations that already have intact a healthy balance of work/rest/home and appreciate a pastor with a renewed focus on self-care and family and/or community connections Healthy boundaries are being maintained that, quite frankly, are hard for longtime, dedicated, and probably over-extended lay leaders and retired clergy to understand. One of the ways I have chosen to help congregations understand these dynamics better are by offering “A Letter To A Search Committee From A Pastor” written by Rev. Kate Penny Howard. I read and appreciated Rev. Howard’s comments on a Facebook post in a clergy group and asked her permission to share it with search committees. She graciously agreed.
And, of course, to manage all of these shifting dynamics and realities more congregations are moving from full-time to part-time ministerial leadership. This requires new ways of thinking about the role of a minister, not to mention members presumed access to a pastor.
[SLIDE 18]
What Good Is A Region?
Now let’s turn to the realities of the Regional Church. I once preached a sermon in which I used the phrase “The muddle in the middle” to describe Regional Church ministry.
[SLIDE 19]
In that sermon, I outlined five unique and important roles that are fulfilled by Regional Ministry. The Regional Church/Regional Minister/Regional Staff:
- Links the Local Church and General Church (as well as ecumenical and interfaith partners)
- We help the larger church understand, appreciate, and offer ministries that directly support the mission and ministry of local congregations and other local ministries.
- We help educate the local congregation about the work of the larger church, especially our General Ministry Partners, and network the Local and General Church.
- Pastors the congregation, the clergy, and the relationship between them
- Thank you Rev. Dr. Richard Hamm who helped me realize I was more than just a “pastor to the pastors,” but that I also pastored the relationship between the pastor and the congregation.
- Ensures a trained, healthy, and consistent order of ministry
- Working closely with the Commission on Ministry we help with discernment, education, support, certification, continuing education, and ongoing oversight of clergy
- Local congregations can trust us to ensure a trained, healthy, and consistent order of ministry so they can trust their Pastor (if they are a Disciples of Christ” clergy person.
- Owns and operates facilities, and develops programs for camps, conferences, and retreats
- It is almost impossible for a local church to own and operate a full campsite and to create the programming for all ages and needs as we do.
- We are in the process of transforming Camp Christian from a mostly summer church camp facility to a year-round Regional Ministry Center for all the church and those in the larger community.
- Observes and conveys trends, new wisdom, and best practices through leadership development
- The Regional Church is able to observe and translate larger trends in faith, the Church, and society and help leaders respond to these trends
- We seek to model self-evaluation, creativity, innovation, and change for leaders and communities across the Regional Church.
[SLIDE 20]
The State of the Regional Church
Along with our Regional Church staff, Regional Church Council, Regional Church Elders I have been working diligently and focusing on pastoral care and a restored confidence in the Regional Church. In tandem with our wonderful Regional Elders, I have put a priority on:
- Ministry of presence and showing up (acknowledging this is as exhausting as it is rewarding and is why the Regional Church Council had to increase my travel budget.
- Pastoral care calls and cards to clergy and lay leaders
- Honest and hard conversations, with lots of listening and prayer.
- Celebrating our leaders and congregations
– Noting special occasions and anniversaries
– Sharing good news and milestones widely on social media
[SLIDE 21]
The Regional Church, starting with the Regional Minister but also via the Regional Church Council, is responsible for setting and living the vision that God is helping us discern. (Joel 2:28; Provers 29:18, Matthew 3:16, for example)
Ways in which we tried to set, model, and live the vision God is encouraging us to explore:
- Working with our staff, Executive Committee, and Regional Church Council on vision, mission, and values
- Preaching and proclamation, especially of key concepts and values
- Monthly newsletter articles, blog posts, social media videos
- Following trends, new and changing wisdom, and best practices and disseminating what I learn
- Using Clergy Conversation Calls to gain and share wisdom
- Listening to and nurturing our most marginalized and youngest members and leaders
[SLIDE 22]
The Regional Church continues to focus on deeper Pro-Reconciliation and Anti-Racism work, including:
- Support for our PRAR Commission and Co-Chairs, the Rev. Dr. Alecia Evans-Hayes and Pastor Jeff Wilder
- Integrated into my sermons, social media posts, newsletter articles, greetings at events and in worship
- Deep commitment to ensuring that our governing and programming bodies are more and more fully representative of our congregations and membership
- Working diligently to ensure Camp Christian is a safer and more nurturing place for BiPOC/People of Color
- There is always more to be done, and we will do what needs to be done to realize Christ’s vision, “that all may be one”
[SLIDE 23]
The Regional Church continues to focus on shared leadership and empowered teams, including:
- Ensuring our Regional Church Council, Commission, Teams, and Committees are fully personed, well-trained, equipped, and empowered to do their work.
- Weekly staff meetings where I listen and learn as much as direct and lead. Weekly meetings with Rev.
- Building new Teams and Committees and insuring the highest of quality and most diverse/representative members are on them.
– Congregational Renewal Team – Rev. Michael Doerr
– Regional Visioning Committee – Rev. Betty Sivis
- Emphasizing transparency and modeling vulnerability in all settings
[SLIDE 24]
A great deal has been done regarding the financial health and transparency of the Regional Church. You can find a detailed report (which was prepared for the 2023 Feasibility Study for a possible major fundraising effort). You can find that full report on our website here:
/media/356082/efforts_to_stabilize_and_strengthen_the_ccinoh.pdf
Here are just a few highlights from that more extensive report:
- The Regional Church and Camp Christian Budgets and monthly Financial Reports from Treasury Services are on our website: www.CCinOH.org
- Every financial transaction is reviewed by both our Finance Committee and Treasury Services
- We ended 2023 in the black for the Regional Operating budget (as we have each year I’ve been here) and Camp Christian within $2,000 of being balanced!
[SLIDE 25]
Of course, the Regional Church has an emphasis on Camp Christian and ensure its stability, even in times of transition and less certainty. Some of the key emphases for us:
- We have had three very good years under the leadership of Tom Bowerman-Jett as Campsite Manager and Bruce Bowerman Jett as Food Service Director.
- Rev. Bruce Bowerman-Jett has been called to a pastoral position in Florida. His and Tom’s last day in their positions will be Sunday, June 23.
- The Executive Committee has determined a plan that has yet to be finalized but will involve hiring interim managers to carry us through the remainder of the summer.
- We also have two experienced Lead Camp Staffers who will be stepping up in their roles.
- This will give the Regional Church leadership the chance to determine what is needed when for the long term.
[SLIDE 26]
Out of the need to both stabilize our biggest physical asset, Camp Christian, as well as to extend the mission and ministry of the Christian Church in Ohio to and with more and more people, congregations, and partners, we began to explore a major fundraising effort, which has resulted in the “If Not Now, When?” Financial Campaign. The process of coming to this conclusion includes:
- A Feasibility Study in 2023 determined that there was capacity for a major fundraising campaign in the Christian Church to raise between $1.9 and $2.8 million. A case was made to raise $2.5 million.
- In November 2023 the Regional Church Council voted to move forward with a major fundraising campaign.
- In the winter/spring of 2024 a Chairperson for the Core Committee was called (Rev. Roger McKinney), a Campaign Coordinator was selected (Rev. Jim Bane) and a Core Committee was selected.
- At the April 27 Regional Church Council meeting it was agreed to move forward with the campaign, to hire Rev. Bane, and to engage Disciples Church Extension Fund to help run the campaign.
[SLIDE 27]
- The campaign is being formulated and will be rolled out in the next few weeks.
- There will be both a silent phase focused on major donors and a public phase in which everyone can participate
- A “drop down” donation option is already available on our Regional Church Website
- The campaign will raise money for:
– A full-time program staff person for the year-round Regional Ministry Center (3-year seed money)
– Several part-time Regional Church Office staff
– Capital improvements to make the camp facilities accessible
– An accessible pool with a bathhouse and needed utilities.
[SLIDE 28]
What does all this mean? Well, We gotta have hope! My faith tells me that “Every day is a new chance for resurrection!”
Let’s begin with some wonderful examples of hope and resurrection that comes from God through our willingness to engage in innovation and support and celebrate creativity.
[SLIDE 29]
On the left you see musicians from Jackson Christian Church in Jackson, Ohio who offer worship music that is responsive to the gifts of those in the congregation as well as to one type of music familiar to and appreciated by those in their community in southeast Ohio: bluegrass!
On the right you will see four of the high school students who participated in the 2024 International Affairs seminar in March. This program was a reimagination of the former “United Nations Seminar” but also was planned in tandem with the Heartland Conference of the United Church of Christ. Another shift we moved from just allowing Juniors and Seniors in high school to attend, to inviting all high school students to apply and possibly attend.
[SLIDE 30]
On the left you see the totally re-envisioned sanctuary of Disciples Christian Church of Cleveland Heights that has chosen to shape not only its facilities but its mission and ministry to become an arts center for their community. They offer their newly remodeled space to youth arts organizations in their immediate community at no charge.
On the right there is a photo from Fifth Christian Church in Cleveland, Ohio that will once again this summer host a Freedom School, one of the programs created by Marian Wright Edleman to better serve children and families of color with quality summer programming.
[SLIDE 31]
On the left is a picture of me with the Rev. Nathan Russell, Pastor of Washington Avenue Christian Church of Elyria who raised funds to leverage the forgiveness of medical debt for persons in their community, which was also done by other clergy and congregaions including Rev. Dr. Sarah Taylor Peck, Pastor at Community Christian Church of North Canton and Rev. Michael Doer, Pastor at First Christian Church of Wauseon.
On the right you’ll observe a photograph from an innovative training program offered at Camp Christian for clergy which helped clergy and lay leaders be equipped to domestic and intimate partner violence awareness and prevention. It was decided by the leaders of the Commission on Ministry that this training would count for a secondary fulfilment of the Clergy Healthy Boundary requirements for standing.
[SLIDE 32]
On the left you can see the sanctuary of Compass Christian Church where the Rev. Beckie Linn Gregory Shelton chose to take the Covenant Curriculum provided by the Office of General Minister and President and made it more than a small group discussion, but a whole church discussion and placed it in the worship service and rearranged the worship space to better facilitate the conversations so important to the curriculum.
On the right is a photo of leaders from the wonderfully successful Diaconate and Elder Training that happened at Camp Christian, which transformed a request by one local congregation to have a training for their leaders, but when invited to include other more racially diverse leaders. It ended up expanding more than imagined and brought over one hundred participants to the event.
[SLIDE 33]
I want to lift up a very special innovative Woodland Christian Church of Columbus has partnered with five other congregations in the greater Columbus areas to do the good but hard work of pro-reconciliation and anti-racism across racial, denominational, and geographic lines. Called “The Coalition For Racial Reconciliation” offers not only anti-racism training, but also community events, like the Community Health Fair you see advertised on the slide. This is a great model for other congregations and districts.
[SLIDE 34]
Pentecost Priorities
To conclude, I would like to share my three Pentecost Priorities to help move our important Resurrection Hope work forward to include more and more people and congregations/faith communities. These three priorities include:
- I will spend the days following Pentecost to share learnings and wisdom I have gained over the years, and that of other leaders across the life of the church, regarding evangelism and church growth, with biweekly “Pentecost Pointers” posts that will be available on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads (Check out the first Pentecost Pointers here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4jD8tACHKkPSE57x/)
- We will establish a New Ministries Team to guide our efforts.
- We will have a contingent of dedicated Christian Church in Ohio leaders participate in the 2024 Leadership Academy scheduled to take place from Tuesday, October 22nd to Friday, October 25th at Meizon Church in Gainesville, Florida. Find out more about this event here: https://newchurchministry.org/leadership-academy/
[SLIDE 35]
In order for us to do this more effectively and with greater impact, we need to support the Pentecost Offering. 50% of this offering goes to New Church ministries in the General Church and 50% goes to New Church Ministries in the Regional Church. To find out more about the Pentecost Offering and to give to this offering, please go to https://disciplesmissionfund.org/special-offerings/pentecost/ (Please designate your local Ohio congregation, otherwise our 50% will not return to the Christian Church in Ohio.
[SLIDE 36]
Thank You!
Thank you so very much for your time and focus for this presentation. I look forward to being in conversation with you on what has been covered in this presentation. Please feel free to communicate with me and the Regional Church Council, and please follow us on all our communication channels below.
May God be with us all as we seek to be partners in ministry with God as we affirm God is in charge!
Faithfully Yours,
Rev. Allen V. Harris
Christian Church In Ohio
Regional Pastor & President
Ministry Cell Phone: 216-390-7910 (preferred)
Office Phone: 614-433-0343
10335 Maple Dell Rd., Marysville, Ohio 43040
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