Encouraging Report - Steve
These are exciting days at the Chapel and Emergence.
Last night, I had the pleasure of leading a membership class. We had a box full of packets--about 35 of them. By 7:30 we were short 9 packets. In all, 44 people started the membership process last night. That is exciting stuff!
What's just as exciting were the people there checking out next steps:
5% were in their teens
36% were in their 20s
12% were in their 30s
36% were in their 40s
9% were in their 50s
2% were in their 60s
In the end, 47% were 18-35 and 53% were 36+
In an age where young people are absent from churches across the globe, I can't tell you how blown away I am watching my peers and multiple generations of believers coming together in spite of their differences.
For whatever reason, 20-somethings are coming to church here. And contrary to popular opinion, which teaches that young people don't get involved and are not committed to anything, our service teams, and those serving their communities are basically split down both sides of 35.
I'm really encouraged--and I think those who were there last night are, too. There's some great stuff going on... and it is a lot more fun to be involved than to spectate on the sidelines.
If you're still interested in membership, but could not make last night's class, drop me a note at . We have another option for you.
See you on Sunday...
Comments(1) Login to Post Comments
Carolyn Hook on Jun 25, 2009 7:51pm
Hey Steve,
Thanks for leading the class last night.
Thought you would be encouraged to know that a recent study on volunteering (The Decision to Volunteer, published by the American Society of Association Executives) reports, “No matter what the reason for volunteering, the youngest respondents agreed more strongly than older respondents with the importance of getting involved with organizations." They’ve grown up with it. It was required in most of their high school and colleges in order to graduate.
While this study was of professional and community-based association members, I think it is still applicable.
Getting involved is a decision – and is rarely spontaneous, according the research. People may deliberate for considerable amounts of time about whether to get involved, the extent of their involvement and the degree to which what they’ll be doing matches their needs.
What's cool about getting involved in church is that you're getting involved in God's mission with God's people -- and I think that contributes greatly to "life abundant."