Hospitality

This week I preached a sermon on the hospitality and here is a quote i used from Bishop Robert Schnase's new book The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. He is talking about the decline of the mainline church.

"People getting mad and leaving is not the cause of our decline. Members simply grow old and die, and no one takes their places. The church as a “front door” problem rather than a “back door” problem. People are not entering into the life of the church at a rate that matches or exceeds the number maturing and dying. In many cases, we have not passed along the faith ot our won children and grandchildren.
To become a vibrant, fruitful, growing congregation requires a change of attitudes, practices, and values. Good intentions are not enough. Too many churches want more young people as long as they act like old people, more newcomers as long as they act like old-timers, more children as long as they are quiet as adults, more ethnic families as long as they act like the majority in the congregation."

Say Amen if you can!