ENVISIONING THE FUTURE – PART 6

AN INVITATION AND A QUESTION.....

I invite you to watch the following brief video from our Annual Meeting in October. View video

What are your thoughts about the changes in our mission field and what it will take for the next 10 years to be different than the last 30 years in the advance of God’s Kingdom in Dallas and Rockwall counties? 

Please comment.

Envisioning the Future - Part 5

In previous posts, we began a dialogue on envisioning the future of our work here in Dallas. In Part 4, I included these two charts which summarize what we have discussed in the prior articles. The first chart represents the population growth of our mission field, and the second represents the combined membership, attendance, and baptisms of our churches.

While our mission field has grown dramatically in population, the combined membership, attendance, and baptisms have been flat. More people than any other time are going into eternity without Christ from Dallas and Rockwall counties. Our mission field is more lost than ever before and we are losing ground.

What will it take for the next 10 years to be different than the last 30 years in the advance of God’s Kingdom in Dallas and Rockwall Counties?

I believe that the future of our work can be different. There is a great openness to the gospel and tremendous spiritual opportunity. In our staff retreat last year, we spent some time in prayer and dialogue concerning our future and compiled the following list that we believe could have significant results if we intentionally focus on them. In the upcoming weeks, I would like to discuss these in more detail and welcome your comments and insights.

• Focus on lostness - Luke 15:4
• Focus on reproduction – 2 Timothy 2:2
• Focus on life transformation – Matthew 28:20
• Focus on engaging the city – Matthew 5:13-16
• Focus on God’s resources – Philippians 4:19

Envisioning the Future - Part 4

Dallas and Rockwall counties have grown dramatically in the last 30 years. Our population has grown by 61%. The greatest growth has been in diversity. We are now a minority majority city with no ethnicity representing more than 50%. We know of at least 170 different languages that are spoken in the homes of our residents.

How have we kept pace these last 30 years with this growth? The number of churches in DBA has grown from 195 to 500 representing an increase of 156%. However, there are some metrics that are more important to us than the number of churches.

Jesus commanded us to “make disciples.” I am not assuming that every baptism or resident member represents a true disciple of Jesus Christ, but the change in the combined total of membership, attendance, and baptisms of our churches is an indicator of our progress or lack thereof. The fact is that membership and attendance numbers have not changed significantly in the last 30 years. When you plot them on a chart, the trend is a flat line. Of greater concern is the number of baptisms. The trend line for these has been relatively flat with a slight trend downward the last 15 years.

The first chart represents our mission field and the second represents DBA.

While our mission field has grown dramatically in population, the combined membership, attendance, and baptisms has been flat. More people than any other time are going into eternity without Christ from Dallas and Rockwall counties. Our mission field is more lost than ever before and we are losing ground.

What will it take for the next 10 years to be different than the last 30 years in the advance of God’s Kingdom in Dallas and Rockwall Counties? This is a question that we have been asking as a staff. We welcome your thoughts and dialogue on this question. You can post a comment below.

Envisioning the Future - Part 3

Among the major cities of our country, DFW exceeds national averages in population growth and diversity. Let me describe more specifically how Dallas and Rockwall counties are changing.

In the last 30 years, we have become a minority majority city with no ethnicity representing more than 50%. Here is a summary of the changes from 1980 and 2010.

• Anglo population has decreased from 1,092,962 to 843,395. In 1980, 70% of the population was Anglo. Today, the percentage is 34%.

• African American population has increased from 287,541 to 509,960. The percentage of the population has grown from 18.5% to 21%.

• Hispanic population has increased from 154,561 to 968,433 and has become the largest ethnicity in our mission field. The percentage of the population has grown from 10% to 39.5%.

• Asian population has increased from 15,034 to 115,231 representing a growth in the percentage of the population from 1% to 5%.

In addition to these broad categories, the growth in diversity is seen in the different languages represented in our two counties. We have identified over 170 languages spoken in the homes of our residents.

In one of our recent Annual Worship Celebrations, we introduced the following logo:

We took the phrase “making disciples of all nations” from the Great Commission and placed it over the skyline of Dallas. More than any other time in our history, the opportunity to make disciples of people of different languages and ethnicities is not just global but also local.

How can you and your church connect with some of the people groups in your community?

How Do You View God:

TEXAS FAITH FORUM QUESTION: In their new book, America’s Four Gods, Baylor professors Paul Froese and Christopher Bader claim that America’s cultural diversity goes back to our competing views of God. There is the engaged, judging Authoritative God; the loving, supportive Benevolent God; the observant but not punishing Critical God; and the stand-apart Distant God. In essence, we are at war over who God is, which leads to this week’s question: How do you see God? Do you fit into one of those four categories? A blend of them? Something quite different than these categories? Or do you not see God at all?

I recognize that there are different views of God as categorized in the book, America’s Four Gods. However, our view of God should be guided by what God has revealed about Himself. As a Christian, I believe that God has revealed Himself in the Bible and through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus said to His disciples, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)

What the Bible reveals about God does not fit entirely in any one of these categories. For example, Jesus claimed that all authority has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18), and one day He will come in glory as Judge (Matthew 25:31-46). But He was also loving and supportive (Matthew 11:28-30) and came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

I think that the problem that America’s Four Gods reveals is that many people tend to create God in the image of what they perceive and desire that God should be like. So culture creates inaccurate and inadequate views of God. But the view from the Bible and from Jesus present a view of God that is absolutely amazing!