I was talking to an old friend of mine tonight. — Yes, an old friend, he is retired now and was best man at my wedding 30 years ago. — He happens to be a church growth statistic geek. When he was young, he was involved in a college campus ministry. After that, he spent the rest of his life church planting, although he did spend nearly 15 years at his last church. He has ghost written books that had highly successful sales, and was a senior editor for an editorial house. In other words, he is highly qualified to speak on certain subjects.
He told me that the latest church growth statistics show that up to 9 out of 10 church plants in this country fail. He further said that it appears that the heyday of church planting is past in this country. He was not saying that it could not return, but rather saying that it us currently not that heyday. In the heyday of church planting, one could start a simple fellowship group and grow it quickly into a church. Nowadays, people will no longer go to such a church plant. Rather, from the beginning, people expect a church plant to have the latest high tech equipment, and, even when meeting in a rented space, to show the characteristics of a modern multimedia church.
I suspect that the Orthodox equivalent would be to have a mission that already has the liturgical accutraments necessary to present an Orthodox-looking worship, and a priest already in situ. He said that at least one denomination is already feeling as though they need to budget multiple thousands of dollars for each church start, if they hope for it to be successful. He further stated that too many denominations are still working from the old model, and sending pastors into situations in which they are doomed to fail. That is, they are sending them there without the financial support that is currently needed in order to even have a hope of beginning a church.
I could spend time bewailing this development in American culture. And, I must admit, it is worthy of bewailment. What an incredibly self-centered attitude we have in order to require so much! In other words, as he put it, we have become such a consumer society that even God must bend to our requirements before we will attend His Church.
I would rather ask the missionary question. What is necessary for us to reach this country for Christ? It is not relevant whether our attitudes are inadequate. After all, we cannot expect people who are not committed to Christ to have appropriate attitudes. Rather, without compromising our Orthodoxy, what can we do to reach out to a consumerist society, to change a consumerist way of thinking about the Church, and to incorporate them into the Church as vital members of the Body of Christ?
This same question “What can we do?” applies to all Christians.
Sadly though, it is a question that is usually approached with certain presumptions in mind, and certains answers already decided.
And in some cases, the result is disasterous.