Change Your Church or Die

Josh Hunt

60% of our 46,125 SBC churches reported NO baptisms (age 12-17)

From 1950-2011 Southern Baptists baptized an average of 379,711 people annually. Only twice during that time did the numbers dip more than 10 percent below that average. But in 2012 the decline was 13 percent off the average —the worst drop in 62 years

Ed Stetzer’s prediction…

4,000

Two bits of good news…

•Overseas, the church is exploding in growth•There are MANY positive outliers—many churches are exploding in growth

Principle of Rehabilitation. The length of the recovery is proportionate to the depth of the problem. •You cannot

resolve in a week what took a decade to develop.

Urgency

Urgency

Guiding team

The change that is possible

is directly proportional to the strength of

your relationships.

Urgency

Guiding team

Vision

Communication

Communication

Empowerment

Communication

EmpowermentShort term wins

Momentum

Momentum

Make the change stick

Summary• Urgency• Guiding team• Vision• Communication• Empowerment• Short term wins•Momentum•Make the change stick

THE KEY to a growing Sunday School…

THE KEY to a growing Sunday School…realizing there is no one key.

Dabble&

Experiment

Dabble & Experiment… in contrast• Little group in smoke-filled room•Hear ye! Hear ye!• Things will never be as they have been before!•Resistance.•Conflict.• Failure.

Dabble and experiment…

•No vision needed.•No guiding team needed.•No idea where you are going? OK.•No idea how to get there?

OK.

Illustrate with three changes•Sunday night

Sunday night change

•52•50•45•40•24

Illustrate with three changes•Sunday night•Traditional music to contemporary music•Sunday school to home groups

Sunday School is not on competition with home groups.

Sunday School is not on competition with home groups.

Home groups are in competition with Sunday night and Wednesday night.

Dabble&

Experiment