Should we bring back the annual associational letter? Probably not, even though Baptists are not hearing many of the great stories of congregations in association with one another.
Writing and presenting the Associational Letter for the annual meeting was a fellowship-building tradition during the first 200 years of Baptist associations in America.
But aren’t there more important things to count that look at the vitality and vibrancy of a congregation?
I saw the signs of future sin way before we entered the lost years of the congregation my family helped launch when I was in high school. It was certainly not intentional sin. It was all unintentional. We caught it before it became an ongoing sinful practice.
As I sat across the desk from the pastor, I heard him describe a congregation with many great qualities. But they had no idea about where they were headed, much less what God’s empowering vision might be for their next seven years.
If I ask you about your teenage years, you might tell me you were the perfect adolescent. If so, I know you also lie about other things.
You can help new congregations succeed beyond their first generation by supporting them during two critical early stages.
Interventions may occur during pastor transitions, strategic planning efforts or the construction of a new building. Otherwise, the underlying, less visible issues of the life cycle of congregations are ineffectively addressed.
