This past week, I read Lovett Weems’ new book, An Aura of Hope. Weems has been a voice in United Methodist Church Renewal for decades and established the Lewis Center for Church Leadership in 2003. His voice has always been welcome.

This isn’t a book review, but I did take plenty of great notes on the book. What I want to share with you today is a specific focus from An Aura of Hope that I find in my work with local churches. Difficult conversations are necessary for churches to adapt and reach new people.

These four points outline the new reality. They help churches understand that old tactics and expectations won't bring them into a new day.

New members will come from new residents.​
In the past, churches grew by people moving into the neighborhood.
They were already like them, and most likely already had an affiliation with the denomination. In short - they were already disciples and knew what to do.

New members will come from young couples returning to church when they have children.​
I’ve written plenty on generational dynamics, so I won’t go into it here.
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In short - the younger someone is, the more likely it is they aren’t part of a Christian tradition. Couple this with the fact people are getting married and having children later…this assumption no longer works.

New members will be younger than current members.​
Think back to the last point. Assuming young people isn’t a given. In fact, especially when the church is primarily made up of people over the age of 60, a focus on people in their 20’s and 30’s might be difficult, or at least won’t look like the current congregation. I instead suggest these churches begin concentrating on people one generation cohort lower than themselves. Is your church over 65? Focus on Gen X. These are people between the ages of 46 and 61.

New members will look like us and share our values.​
One unique point of research I am doing with local churches currently is mapping where the existing members live. We are discovering that many church members live OUTSIDE the historic mission field of the church.

As Tim Keller puts it, “Soon the congregation doesn’t look like the neighborhood and can’t reach its own geographic community.”
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Local churches have been thinking of their mission relationally and not geographically. This makes it much harder to experience revitalization. The frustration many churches experience is because they are banking on relational mission. This doesn't discount the power of relationships, but it must focus on the geographic mission field.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Weems from An Aura of Hope.

The biggest indicator I have discovered of a congregation's ability to experience revitalization isn’t money, but the ability to have difficult conversations that lead to a transformative future. Thinking through these four points, Lovett Weems gives us would be a wise conversation.

Chad