Question:
"Our congregation has lost momentum and morale is down. We
are averaging -21 in morning worship as compared to last year.
No crisis of large proportion created this circumstance. Have
you developed an assessment tool to determine hindrances to morale
and momentum?"
Here
are some important questions to ask:
1.
Does your church have a low level of self-esteem?
2.
Is there an anticipation with what is happening around the
church?
3.
Do lay leaders tend toward encouraging or criticizing?
4.
Do new people, worship services, and fellowship create enthusiasm?
5.
Do people discuss the past more than they look to the future?
6.
When your church board discusses priorities do they emphasize
survival or mission?
7.
Do the decision-makers talk in terms of "either/or"
or "both/and" thinking?
8.
How accurate and often does communication take place within
the church?
9.
Do new attendees find a sense of belonging or do they struggle
for acceptance?
10.
How much enthusiasm exists for outreach and evangelism?
11.
How good are people at saying "thanks" to those
who help, lead, and minister?
12.
How compelling is the vision for the local church?
Answering
these questions in some detail will help you determine your congregation's
level of morale and momentum. If possible, try to pin-point the
source(s) or reason(s) for negative responses and create an action
plan to address problem areas. Recruit and train others to help
you. As each problem area is positively addressed, morale and
momentum are likely to take an upswing. Tough times like you describe
drain us emotionally, but provide an opportunity to strengthen
the church and move to the next level.
--Dr.
Lyle Pointer, pastor and Professor of Evangelism at Nazarene Theological
Seminary, will answer your questions about personal and local
church evangelism. Questions and answers will be posted on the
website and One-on-One. Send your questions to
evangelism@nazarene.org.
Click
here to access previous questions from Dr. Pointer.
