Tag: revival

Crunching Numbers on Nazarenes in the USA/Canada Region

On By Rob Prince2 Comments

Here are USA/Canada basic stats for the Church of the Nazarene: There are 78 Districts, 4,316 churches,11,103 elders, 2,134 district licensed ministers, 515 deacons and 364,029 worshipping the Lord every week. That means the total of elders, deacons and district licensed ministers is 13,752 clergy. When crunching those numbers that means, there is: 

  • One clergyperson for every 27 people who are showing up on a Sunday morning. 
  • There were 21987 baptisms last year or one clergyperson for a little over one and a half baptisms. 
  • 19466 people were received into membership by profession of faith (not a sheep changing pastures but a new believer) or one clergyperson for a little under one and a half of those new believers. 

Permission to write freely: These are not great numbers. I know the attendance numbers have increased the last two years. That’s good.  First time in 50 years (or something like that) that USA/Canada has had two consecutive years of growth. Good. Good. Double good! But crunching the numbers a little more shows some things that aren’t totally great. 

What are the 13,752 pastors doing?  Seriously? What. Are. We. Doing. (I’ve put myself in this discussion because I am one of those 13,752 clergypersons). 

I’m not sure how many of the 13,752 clergy are unable to serve in any meaningful way. Maybe they are in a nursing home or too sick to lead a person to Jesus. Sometimes, where a person is serving is difficult. It’s not fertile ground. Didn’t Elmer F. Schmelzenbach go years and years before his first convert in Africa?  So maybe some of my clergy brothers and sisters might be in tough circumstances. I get it. It’s not always easy.

But come on… Not even two baptisms per pastor?  Less than that of those who led a person to start following Jesus. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there is an evangelism problem amongst me and my fellow pastors. Could I say it this way, the numbers show a lack of evangelistic furfur amongst the clergy in the USA/Canada region. Again, there are spots where true evangelism is happening. A few churches here and there are doing great things for the Kingdom. At a recent district assembly, it was reported that nearly half of that district’s baptisms were from one church. Hooray for that that one church, but to the rest of us, I want to say, “C’mon!  Get Going!” 

Obviously, it’s not all on the pastors to do all the evangelizing in a church. We are protestants after all. We still believe in the priesthood of all believers. But if there are 13,000+ clergy, wouldn’t you think that there would be a higher percentage of converts? We still believe that people are hurting, lonely, and lost. We still believe that Jesus is the answer. We still believe that without Him people are eternally doomed. Where’s the urgency?

I’m praying that in my new role with the Nazarene Bible College and in creating a Center to help pastors, that I will be available to make a difference. I hope to help lead in evangelism, holiness, integrity, connectivity, generosity, and stewardship. Good News for pastors: Help is on the way (in other words).

In the meantime, my fellow pastors, can we make it a goal, a personal goal, to win and baptize two, just two people in the coming year. Imagine if we set the example and folks in our churches started following suit, and they started to pray and then evangelize a person or two who doesn’t know Jesus. Do you know what will happen? Revival just might break out. Set the example pastors!  Let’s reach people for Jesus! Let’s pray for revival!

Is AI the Answer to the Prayers of the Church (in unexpected ways)? 

On By Rob PrinceLeave a comment

Like it or not, AI is coming. It will affect the church. This is not about pastors using ChatGPT to write sermons or AI producing a better church software.  It will be much more impactful. Here’s the kicker: Is it possible that AI is the answer to the church’s prayers (in unexpected ways)?

The Bad News: If one Googles “job losses caused by AI” there are numerous reports from a variety of news sources citing the coming labor crash (one example is HERE).  The consensus: people will lose jobs. It’s already happening. Of course, that is not good. The social impact of AI will be startling. Here’s more bad news: when church people lose jobs, church income is also reduced. Programs are lost. Ministries are cut. How can this be good for the church? 

Look at these facts:

Fact 1: AI induced job losses are coming (See above).
Fact 2: Pastors are getting older. More pastors are over 60 than under 60 in the USA.
Fact 3: There are not enough pastors-in-training in the current pipeline (in colleges or course of study) to fill the upcoming (and already here) pastor shortage.

The result: Individuals, who have college degrees but have lost their jobs because of AI, start looking and praying for a new career. Suddenly, but not surprisingly, they hear from the Lord. Could those unemployed college graduates, in their unanticipated job search, discover that God is calling them to something better? Could God use the AI created job market black hole to call men and women into full time ministry?  It makes sense. Why not? The fields are still “white unto harvest” and AI can’t replace pastors.

Moreover, in times of social upheaval and uncertainty (also coming, thanks to AI), people are more apt to turn to God. When people are at a loss, when times are challenging, people turn to Jesus. Could AI induce a revival? Again, why not? 

More pastors and a coming revival—aren’t those the very things for which we’ve been praying?

Please understand, I’m not advocating problematic social upheaval. I don’t want it, any more than anyone else. I’m simply noticing the winds of change. We are on the cusp of a new AI world. Moreover, the church needs to be prepared. (Shameless plug alert) Places like Nazarene Bible College are needed more than ever. We need pastors. Lots of pastors. They need to be trained. That need is going to grow, not lessen, because of AI. We’ve been praying for revival. It may be the unanticipated result of the coming AI revolution. So, heed the words of Jesus:

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  –Jesus (Luke 10:2)

Are Revival Services like the Penny— have they lost their value?

On By Rob Prince5 Comments

The last penny came off the press yesterday. Pennies started being made in 1793. Back then a penny bought a biscuit, a candle, or some candy. Today, it costs about four cents to make a penny. I wasn’t a math major but it seems that if it costs four times the amount to make a penny than what it is worth, it quite literally is not a money making venture. The penny had to die. It didn’t make financial sense to make cents. 

I wonder if there are things that have lost their value in the church? Do we do things that no longer make sense, but cost cents (sometimes a lot more than cents)? Every church that I have been a part of has had a few sacred cows hanging around that probably could have been let out to pasture years ago. Sometimes we do things that don’t necessarily cost cents, but still have no value and should be buried.

The opposite is also true, there might be things that have immense value that we have let go by the wayside because the bottom line. For example, I wonder if spiritual renewal weeks (revival services) fall into this category. A yearly (even semi-annually) revival meetings were common place fifty years ago. Today, most churches no longer have them. The unsaved have other things to do. School activities take out many students and parents from evening services. Other busyness invades our time. The seasoned saints felt they no longer needed such gatherings. Attendance dropped. It grew costly. There are better ways to spend money. I’ve heard all the arguments. Churches don’t see the value in the special services. It’s like the penny. They cost more than they are worth.

But is that true? Revival/spiritual renewal services still can have immense value. In fact, it makes no spiritual sense to call them off. No matter the cost. 

Our spiritual renewal services are preceded by a 24/7 prayer week. We are convinced spiritual renewal should be bathed in prayer. There are three people in the building (two hosts and one pray-er) for every hour from Sunday to Sunday. Next, from Sunday to Wednesday, we have special services. We provide a free meal before the weekday meetings. We start early (5:30 meal; 6:30 service) so young families can still attend. We provide children’s services (it’s not babysitting. It’s age appropriate children’s worship). We do our best to allow our “regular” worship leaders and pastors to have the services off—so that they can receive the blessing of spiritual renewal (maybe those leading need spiritual renewal the most. We don’t want our leaders to have the well run dry). We bring in excellent speakers. It’s an important rhythm of our church. We ask folks to prioritize the gatherings. We remind them that we all need it. Pastors included. Hitting pause on our busy schedules and settling to hear what the Lord has for us has immense value. It’s not like the penny.

What’s the value in one person saved? One marriage renewed? One teenager called in to the ministry? One person healed? One discouraged saint reinvigorated? The penny might not be worth the time and effort to make them anymore. The same cannot be said for times of spiritual renewal.

Is it too late for Revival in the Church of the Nazarene (USA/Canada)?  

On By Rob Prince6 Comments

There is no question on the necessity of the church to be revived. A quick look at the numbers reveal that in-person attendance is plummeting. Churches are closing. New churches are not being started. Young people are not being called to pastoral ministries. The clergy along with the people in the pews are aging. The writing is on the wall. It’s only a matter of time before the funeral processional begins. Something needs to happen (read: REVIVAL) or the Church of the Nazarene will die!* But is it too late for her to turn around?

Luke writes of the revival following Pentecost. It can happen. The church was adding people every day (Acts 2:47). In a short period of time, the number of believing men grew to 5,000 (Acts 4:4). In spite of opposition from within (Ananias and Sapphira) and pressure on the outside, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (Acts 5:14). Revival was happening. It was the work of the Holy Spirit and the believers were in “one heart and one mind” (Acts 4:32). 

The Holy Spirit is still at work, but would anyone declare the Church of the Nazarene to be in “one heart and mind”? The church seems to be more divided than ever. There’s too much “us vs. them.” There are too many labels. There are too many sub-groups and factions. Social media loudly clamors for attention on all sides. There are too many separate entities fighting for their corner of the table. The U.S.S. Nazarene is sinking, does it matter who is sitting at the captain’s table?

It’s never too late for the Holy Spirit to right the ship. But it sure seems like the window of revival is closing for the Church of the Nazarene. There are those who say, “Let her die.” I’m not one of them. She can be revived. There is resurrection hope. 

The answer seems simple to write, but hard to obtain. Quit fighting. Quit dividing. Quit weaponizing social media. Quit demonizing those with a slightly different theological bent. Quit. Just quit. This is not a call that one side or the other needs to quit, every side must quit the chatter. Jesus highly priestly prayer calls all believers to be unified (see John 17:20-21). Can’t the church live into that prayer? Can the church be on one heart and mind?

Is it too late for revival? It’s never too late. The church willing to humbly settle its differences in an age of division and angst? Are its members willing to pray along with Jesus to be one? That’s the question. 

If it is too late for a revived Church of the Nazarene, don’t mourn too long. God will rise up new groups like in the late 1800’s when the Church of the Nazarene or the Holiness Church of Christ or the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America started. These new groups will do what the current version of the Church of the Nazarene is not always doing. A united people who will proclaim holiness of heart and life and offer good news to the least of these. God isn’t impressed with brand names. If the current version of Church of the Nazarene isn’t cutting it, God will raise up a church who will. 

Is it too late? No. But it is getting late…

*Obviously, there are exceptions. There are good churches doing good things. I am super biased but I think Flint Central Church is such an exception.