"Pew what a problem"From back pews to front pews : a local Church symptom of a bigger problem that manifests in scattered pew sitters and too much room to choose from among the mostly empty pews.
Idea:
The Pastor & Church Board & Church officers meet and build a workable plan to change the concept of Church from inactive ("Laissez faire"); to "if we don't do it , it won't get done." If the pastor has only assisted with public evangelism and never brought people into the Church by his personal efforts co-operating with God, the pastor gets material from places like the Canadian office of "The Quiet Hour" & training from someone like Pastor Roy West & the Quiet Hour materials & become trained specifically one on one to personally bring individuals and families into the Church through Jesus and their personal efforts - then teach what they learn. After an NAD Survey 80% of SDA Pastors had never personally brought anyone into the Church through Jesus and their personal efforts. You can not teach what you do not know.
Then starting with:
Rope off back pews 3-4 rows for parents with small children.
The next 3-4 rows for members who did not invite & did not bring visitors or people they are studying with them,that day.
The front section is roped off for members who have invited & brought visitors that day. For members who are studying with folks and have invited them and / or are bringing them that day. (Preferably have brought them that day. Arranged child care @ Church & visitors menu driven potluck and an introductory meeting with another SDA family or families {that are pre-prepared for this introductory meeting to form Bible based friendships with the visiting family or families.) Both the SDA family that brings folks and the ones forming friendships are all doing a workshop with common planning to stay on the same page & help each other's agenda.
A deadline is given the local church with specific goals. Such as (example of what I mean.)
13 weeks to fill the front section under the above conditions. After that date,if the front stays empty, the pastor starts dropping one or two preaching Sabbaths a month from that local church and replaces it with home visitations and training local Church officers & their spouses {that he selects to go with him & his wife as they visit the local members on an ongoing basis to uncover what's wrong, teach the members how to receive Jesus personally & how to work for souls personally.
The local Church officers pick up the slack on local preaching & teaching.
The ones who refuse to work for souls especially get worked with to uncover objections and excuses. Objections are an honest statement that if the problems were solved, they would do whatever they were currently objecting to. Excuses are deceptive attempts to get out of whatever it is and they don't intend to do it anyway. Removing the excuse just calls for more excuses to be given.
Pastoral visitations will find stubborn unrecantable problems, that will have to be dealt with, that may require Church Board & Church Body votes. When irreconcilable log jams are cleared away growth will return & God will wake up and help all the honest, be they limited, or multi-talented, quick, or slow, young or old, rich or poor. All the willing He will help.
All the pews will fill & keep the sectioning setup to reward the busy members, accommodate the parents with children with special needs, and set goals and rewards for the members who would if some would personally help them to. Train other local members to do that with them and help them, till they can inturn help others.
Pastors talk it over with your boards & officers & see if agreement can be reached ? Goals must have rewards for being met & consequences for being missed. A support system to enforce rewards and consequences must be in place and functioning and all on the same page prior to announcing it.
The front pews are lonely and cold and the need warm active searching people to be there with their repentant tears and hopeful prayers and grateful amen's.
The middle pews are feeling confused because so many sit for a while and move around so much. Their behinds reflect the temperature of their spiritual thermostats and the pews are catching the flu from the chill.
The back pews have arthritis and cry for relief because so many big people sit on them so much it is killing them. The little kids are so much lighter and smile so much more. The back pews miss their bright little faces and honest trusting questions.
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Edward F Sutton
[This message has been edited by Edward F Sutton (edited May 12, 2001).]
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] them and share with the next board meeting.
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