By: Rev. Dr. Anna Hall
You are not alone.
When I work with congregations these days through coaching, consulting, and our Convergence Vitality Assessments, I get to hear people’s worries about their faith community and its future. Those who respond to our surveys are frank about the issues facing their congregation. Their anxieties come through loud and clear. When I bring these findings back to members and leaders there is often a sigh of relief. All the things they have been thinking and feeling are now included in the conversation, at last.
What are people worried about? The most common anxieties include:
- Shrinking numbers
- Not enough younger people
- Inability to change
- Financial sustainability
- Church conflict
If you have found yourself anxious about these things, I have good news — these issues are facing almost every faith community in the US today. You are not alone, and your congregation is not alone.
It is important to take the time to name and work through all the emotions of being part of a congregation in the 21st century. We must sit with our feelings, alone and together, and support each other through this unique experience of doing religious life together in an increasingly secular world.
Yet we can’t live in the worry zone forever.
Get out of the “worry zone.”
Our next questions must be:
- How do we move forward from this place of anxiety?
- How do we hear God’s calling for our future?
We help congregations every day to move from anxiety and fear into a place of acceptance and discernment so that they might hear God’s call for the people and situation they have right now. Our Convergence Vitality Assessment makes visible all of their strengths, gifts, and growing areas. We walk faith communities through demographic data and teach them how to do effective community interviews so that their unique setting and context become part of the conversation. Our approach to measuring community impact makes it clear how much good communities of faith are doing, even in these uncertain times.
Move from anxiety to affirmation.
Above all, we can help you and your congregation move from anxiety to affirmation. I believe that God has a calling for every group of people trying to do religious life together — no matter how big or small, no matter how rich or poor, and no matter what their faith community looked like 30 years ago compared to today. It is always a pleasure to help congregations walk into their future and I give thanks every day that I get to do this work.
If you are worried about your congregation, contact me at anna@convergenceus.org to talk more about how Convergence can support you with our coaching, consulting, and our Convergence Vitality Assessments.
