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But we have not seen the revival, for which we still pray! Things are small and fragile. Everyone who was here when we got here is now almost ten years older and 80 is different from 70. I am still good for the age demographic! My wife remains the youngest committed adult in one of our churches and my kids are the sometimes the only ones on a Sunday. In fact, if I did the graphs, I doubt I could even say that we have grown by 10% year on year. We expect the gospel to grow and the Word of God to bare fruit but the results really are down to God. It is really hard to persuade mature people that they should revolutionise their whole lives for the sake of the Biblical Jesus who, let’s face it, has some plausibility issues to your average secular Brit. With deaths and people moving away, I have decided that humanly speaking one is doing well if the congregation size more or less holds up, though we are not satisfied with that.
Three keen Bible believing families would make a huge difference. But I have resigned myself to the fact that the cavalry is probably not coming! God calls us to love these people and to faithfully serve them and with them to seek to hold out the word of life to others. You must die to the what ifs and the lust for a bigger glitzier platform or a great name. The Senior Pastor for Vision and Preaching at 1st Mega Church has his own issues and challenges. Biblical ministry is not easy anywhere. And even if you went somewhere else you would take yourself and all your baggage with you! What are some things I would say to my younger self (or indeed myself today still)? There are so many things but let me restrict myself to three paragraphs:
Rector of Warbleton, Bodle Street Green & Dallington (East Sussex)
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Ed Stetzer reflects on how to reverse stagnation in your church. https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2018/may/why-is-our-church-stagnating-and-what-do-we-do.html In his book "Centre Church" New York pastor Tim Keller notes how populations are not just gravitating to cities but to metropolitan areas - the regions around cities that benefit from and contribute to city life.
This makes Sussex a significant county not just in its population of 1.7 million people, but its potential influence as so many of its residents commute to London, or to its own cities of Chichester, Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. But we are committed to seeing gospel churches established not just in cities - almost an exclusive focus of planting in recent years, but in towns and villages too. Good comes from Nazareth as well as Jerusalem (John 1v46). Christ is concerned for everyday people and not just the elite. And desite the assumptions of leafy Sussex being the province of the middle and upper classes, Sussex suffers severe degrees of deprivation. Areas of the Sussex coast have the highest population density in the South East outside of London. And a recent Sussex Community Foundation report details that levels of deprivation in Hastings, Brighton and Hove are above the national average, with Hastings being the 20th most deprived out of 326 districts in England. In one ward of the city 75.5% of children live in poverty. Rural life is also a key factor within the county. The report records that 25% of people in Sussex (excluding Brighton & Hove) live in rural areas, much higher than the England average (17.6%). But it also notes that people living on low incomes in rural areas continue to face significant disadvantage, particularly related to the affordability of housing and availability of services and transport. In short, we need gospel ministers to plant and revitalize churches in a huge diversity of areas: those who can reach cities and those who can reach towns and villages; those who love urban life and those who love rural life; those who can engage students and millenials, and those who can engage the middle-aged and elderly; those who might begin a work within the LGBT community and those who might begin one within the farming community. In short, we need those who can relate to people from all walks, all ages and numerous ethnic backgrounds. We also have a particular need for creative thinkers with a pioneering spirit. The disparate nature of some population centres outside the cities means that they will only be reached by tent-making ministers who can self-support to some degree, whether until a church becomes viable, or in some instances for the entirety of their ministry. From the ancient Ashdown Forest to the epic South Downs to the vibrancy of its seaside cities, Sussex is a great place to live and to minister. But above all else, it is a place in need of the gospel. Do get in touch to find out how you might be involved. Our network exists to support you. To read the Sussex Community Foundation's report, click here. Jon Hobbs Grace Church Haywards Heath |
Author,Our blogs are written by those involved in Church Planting and Revitalisation in Sussex, or link to useful posts elsewhere. Archives
October 2019
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