Passing on the Faith
This is the second in a series of
contextual questions being sent to the Congregational Councils of each
congregation of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod. You are asked and invited
to take 15 – 20 minutes at your October council meeting to have a conversation
in response to the question(s) below. Please also pass these questions on to
other groups in the congregation so that we will, indeed, have a very
wide-spread conversation throughout the synod.
"It takes a whole church to grow a
child and pass on The Faith"
Surveys and studies indicate that the
ELCA, on average, is about ten (10) years older in age than the general
population of the United States. It is obvious to many that we have become a
“graying church” and that our continual slow decline in over-all membership from
year to year indicates we have a significant challenge to address collectively.
All baptized people of God are
called, out of their baptism's, to be witnesses and ambassadors of the gospel of
Jesus the Christ.
That has been a difficult task for us
to accomplish in the past few decades. We’ve continued, too often, to rely on
being witnesses in ways that “used to work” but no longer are effective in
today’s culture and society. Many call this time a “post-modern, post-Christian
era.” That means the influences of the church, as a body in society and as an
institutional entity, are no longer very powerful or effective in the lives of
younger generations.
This synod has focused heavily on a
Youth and Family ministry emphasis. It has been an exciting and effective
ministry. Many congregations have adopted the “Child in our Hands” model and
used “milestones” as significant ways to hold up the important moments and steps
of the faith journey in congregational settings. |