Saturday, April 9, 2011
New Canadian C of C Survey
Geoff Ellis, a long time leader in Churches of Christ in Ontario and closely connected with Great Lakes Christian College, has sent out survey info requests for a capella Churches of Christ in Canada. I appreciate Geoff very much in doing so, and his efforts caused me to think about where our Movement is in Canada (the Stone-Campbell or Restoration Movement, that is), especially in western Canada, which is, of course, where I have spent the majority of my adult life and ministry. One question I have is about the churches to which Geoff sent the survey and how he decided those to whom he would send it? I need to ask him, of course, but did he send it to the Shelbourne St. C of C in Victoria, which has for several years now used instruments in worship? Did he send it to the Glen Elm C of C in Regina, which now uses instruments on Sunday mornings about half the time? Another question I have concerns the number of churches which have disbanded. If there is a C of C family or two left in a city or town, but no formal meeting of the church with several families typically meeting at some central location, is this still a church that will be surveyed? I wonder if he will be aware of whatever church plants may have taken place and be able to contact them for their info? Mostly, I am, of course, interested in the results of the survey. My impression is that the still purely a capella churches are for the most part really struggling in western Canada, with there having been no a capella churches in western Canada experiencing notable growth during the last five years, and very few new a capella churches started (I know only of the newer one in Edmonton, and I don't know how they are doing. I know Tim J. is moving to Barrie). If you are a reader of this, I would love to hear if you know of something different. IF my description is accurate, and we are for the most part struggling, I would think that those of us who are leaders in our churches need to seriously consider (or re-consider) what we have been doing. What kind of revival may be in order? What shifts in thinking or method need to take place ? I would think it unlikely that any of us would want to just continue down the same path, which appears to be heading in the direction of a long slow death, with the gates of hell clearly prevailing against the church. Thoughts?
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