From the Pastor's Pen, November, 2005:

From the Pastor's Pen, January, 2006:

"Numbers"

On December 18 in worship, I looked out at the congregation as I was finishing the Children’s Time, and saw several people standing at the back of the sanctuary holding signs that read “150” in large enough numbers I could read them from the front. It took a second to register with me what they were doing, since I’m not accustomed to seeing picket signs in worship! But then I remembered how, as attendance had been climbing at First Church through the fall months, I had rather widely talked about how nice it would be to see 150 gathered for worship. Apparently a few wonderful folks, in on the surprise, made up these signs and were just waiting (for several Sundays) to have the chance to use them when the attendance passed that number (the actual ‘count’ that day was 160—second only to Easter—and then passed by Christmas Eve service with 173 people gathered). It was a lovely surprise to see that celebration!

At the beginning of the New Year, many people pause to take stock of their lives. Some make New Years resolutions, and some of those even keep them. We look at our own lives, the life of our church, the situation of our community and our world. Maybe we set goals, maybe we look to the future, maybe, even if we are not the resolution-making kind, we set our minds to do better, to be better people.

During January, one of my tasks as pastor will be to prepare the year-end statistical report for First Church to send in to the Conference Office. In it will be compiled the changes in membership status in our congregation at First Church: how many have been baptized, how many have transferred their church membership into or out of the church, how many have professed their faith in Christ as they joined the church, what our average worship attendance is, what our financial status is, and so on. I’ll confess that I often have mixed feelings about this task. Numbers are good to tell part of the story of the church. They are one indicator of the health of a congregation. BUT: they do not tell the whole story. It’s nice, of course, to see indications of church growth in larger attendance and healthy offerings which demonstrate our stewardship. Sometimes, though, it feels like we are worshipping at the altar of “Saint Statistic.”

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing a healthy attendance at worship. I think we can continue to grow to pass that 150 number more and more often, not just a couple times a year. There is a reality that though all churches don’t need to be “big” churches, there is growth and encouragement in having more people to worship with! I think we can grow in Sunday School attendance and add more small groups for Bible study, fellowship and spiritual growth. I already see First UMC becoming a healthier church, week by week, “by the numbers,” and in ways that are harder to measure. What I hope for most is continued growth in grace and in the knowledge and love of God! After all, God’s grace is so far beyond our full understanding that we can’t begin to measure or count it!

Along the way toward that growth, watch for the things we can count, and the things we can’t. We can count wonderful things like how many children are in worship and Sunday School. We can see the growth in attendance at our meeting nights. We can count how many people profess their faith in Christ. We can count our offerings not only for support of the local church, but many mission and outreach programs. We can’t, contrary to what the old gospel song says, count our blessings, for there are too many! We can’t measure the way that our faith grows as we attend worship or begin to study the Bible more regularly. We can’t count the fellowship that we feel as we gather with old friends and new at First Church. But all of it “counts” as part of our growth. All of it, and more, helps us to live more fully and more abundantly in the grace of God.

So, as you begin this new year, what are you counting? What are you counting on? What do you hope for? How do you hope to g row in grace? May we all encourage each other to grow—in the ways that can be counted, in the ways that can’t, and most of all, in God’s grace.

On the Journey with you,

e-mail Pastor Baker-Streevy