By Rev. Nicole Reilley, Director of New Ministries

Recently a pastor shared his belief with me that, since overall the church was in decline, his church could not be expected to grow. I guess that is one way to look at it. But it isn’t the only way.

Insight: Remember, the church was in decline in John Wesley’s days, too.  But, perhaps that was the perfect condition to challenge him to grow the number of committed Christian disciples.  As people, we certainly can get discouraged by decline.  But, as disciples, it is not worthy of our calling to become cynical.

Action Step #1: Pray daily, or in your church’s prayer group, for the Holy Spirit to open up our own hearts and that of our churches to new people.  The Spirit will help us understand the “why.”

Action Step #2: Give the Small Church Academy a try on Cal-Pac’s Online Academy with a group of committed, praying ministry leaders.

Action Step #3: Get to the upcoming Creative Worship Conference to learn about how to design a worship service for growth.