Let’s Worship as One Body

Recently, I read an article in The Christian Index by Brandon Porter from the Baptist Press. Below is and large excerpt from it:

“The SBC Worship Congregations and Leadership Study identified strengths among Southern Baptist churches but also brought several needs into clearer focus, including a significant worship leadership shortage and challenges facing smaller, under-resourced churches. Research team members say the study was intended as a baseline, not an endpoint.

“We need more awareness,” said survey team chair Jonathan Welch. “Our congregations know what we experience locally, but one of the benefits of this study is that we can see the issues facing our denomination on the whole.”

Among the 4,530 churches participating in the survey, 22 percent reported average weekly worship attendance of fewer than 50 people, 25 percent between 50 and 99, 42 percent between 100 and 499, and 11 percent of 500 or more.

“I was talking with one of the committee members about this … that the opening sentence of every part of the written report starts with SBC congregations differ, or SBC congregations vary, because there’s just so much diversity here,” Welch said.

Charleston Southern University professor and survey team member Andrew Lucius agreed. “With Southern Baptist [churches], every church is unique. Every church is different than every other,” he said.

That diversity makes a single program or solution unlikely, but the survey team believes the findings point toward a need for greater cooperation around the health of worship in local churches.”

Carole and I have fallen in love with this small community of Glennville and love our GFBC family very much. Sure, we have our imperfections, and have some issues and areas that need improvement, but that is exactly how Christ said it would be until He returns. Let us dedicate ourselves as members of one of the largest 42 percent of churches between 100 and 499 members to being a bold worshiping body of believers. We may be a congregation that are diverse, that differ, and are varied, but in Jesus Christ let’s worship as one body committed to exalting our Savior in worship every time we gather.

Your servant in Christ, Phillip