Category Archives: Churches of Christ in Decline

Amazing Grace/Churches of Christ in Decline?: Rescuing the Churches of Christ, Part 2

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Jay F Guin

IX. Church plants have been shown to work. A. By “church plant” I mean a team of 15 to 20 or so who go to a city and start a church. “Domestic missionary team” may be a more helpful term. … Continue reading →

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Amazing Grace/Churches of Christ in Decline?: Rescuing the Churches of Christ, Part 1

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Jay F Guin

[This is an outline for class teachers at my church. Although some of the material is from other recent posts, most of it’s brand new, especially toward the end. It’s designed for teaching at all churches that have covered the … Continue reading →

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Churches of Christ in Decline? Reflections

Posted on April 30, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Did you notice? The church planting plan I linked to in the last post was organized very much along the lines of Lencioni’s Silos, Politics and Turf Wars. That is, it has a short-term vision (plant a church). It had … Continue reading →

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Churches of Christ in Decline? What It Takes to Be a Planted Church

Posted on April 29, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Again, this is just an idea. I’ve never done this. I don’t know anyone else who has. It’s probably impossible. But at the worst, this would be a good exercise for any church leadership. What would it take to turn … Continue reading →

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Churches of Christ in Decline? Setting a Short-Term Vision

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Okay, I’ve warned you against just buying the hot new evangelical book and making it the short-term vision. It doesn’t work. Well, actually, sometimes it does. But not always. Back when the church growth movement was in full swing, those … Continue reading →

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Churches of Christ in Decline: Silos, Politics and Turf Wars

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Silos, Politics and Turf Wars is a business management book by Patrick Lencioni. I’m a huge fan of his The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, which should be required reading for every elder and minister in the Churches. I’m such … Continue reading →

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Churches of Christ in Decline? Data Points

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Alan Rouse, in a post on his blog, brought together several pieces of data that bear on the decline of conservative denominations, such as the Southern Baptists and Churches of Christ. I’d like to add a few more. First, the … Continue reading →

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Churches of Christ in Decline? “Good News and Bad News” (revised)

Posted on April 25, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Dr. Flavil Yeakley, long the unofficial chief statistician of the Churches of Christ, has just published a booklet called “Good News and Bad News: A Realistic Assessment of the Churches of Christ in the United States 2008.” It can be … Continue reading →

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This Month’s Christian Chronicle: We Are Losing Our Children

Posted on February 3, 2007 by Jay F Guin

This month’s Christian Chronicle reports that the Churches of Christ have grown only 2.6% in the last 26 years! The attachment does the math to see if we are even keeping our own children in the Church. The answer: We … Continue reading →

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