District welcoming congregations to receive pineapples

Whew. What a full year we have had together. I appreciate very much your welcome and receptivity to me. It is always a benefit to follow someone who has done a good job, and I am very grateful to the Rev. Robert Hall for his counsel and precedent.
We face many challenges together in the Austin District, and for that reason I think it is helpful for us to remember our primary purpose for ministry: John 21.
Bishop Janice Huie sent me a copy of FACT on Growth: A new look at the dynamics of growth and decline in American Congregations. It was based on a Faith Communities Today 2005 survey.
This publication is a product of Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary. If you want a copy, go to http://hirr. hartsem.edu. This study involved 14,301 local churches, synagogues, parishes, temples and mosques, providing a public profile of the organizational backbone of religion in America. I will cut to the chase. Here is what the survey found:
n Congregations located in newer suburbs are more likely to experience growth than others. The second best area for growth is in the downtown or central city of metropolitan areas.

> The South is better for growth than all other areas.
> A congregation that is able to attract larger proportions of men is more likely to grow.
> There is very little relation between theological orientation and growth. The proportion growing is highest on the two end points: conservative and liberal.
> More important than theological orientation is the congregation’s clarity of mission and purpose. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about what they are doing.
> Congregations that say they are willing to change to meet new challenges tend to be growing.
> Congregations that have experienced major conflict are quite likely to have declined in attendance.
> Congregations that describe their worship as joyful are more likely to experience substantial growth.
> Congregations that involve children in worship are more likely to experience significant growth, and those that don’t involve children experience significant decline.
> Congregations that developed a plan to recruit new members in the last year were much more likely to grow than congregations that hadn’t.
> Congregations that have started or maintained Web sites in the past year are more likely to grow. Congregations that haven’t done so, but are open enough to change for such a thing to happen, have a lower rate of growth. Congregations that would oppose a Web site are very unlikely to have experienced growth.
> Congregations that are in excellent financial shape are much more likely to have experienced growth than congregations where the finances are not so good
The strongest correlate of growth when all controls were in effect was the presence or absence of conflict. Positively and significantly related to growth is the degree to which the congregation changed its worship services in the past five years.
In our parents’ generation, 80 percent of the population was “churched.” Fifty percent of Baby Boomers and 30 percent of their children are churched. If the current trends continue, only 10 percent of the population, boomers’ grandchildren, will go to church. That means that 90 percent of the population will not know Jesus. They won’t even know who Adam, Eve or Noah is.
One of the tools we are encouraging all our churches to use is welcoming congregation certification. It helps clergy and laity welcome new people and follow up in a timely way.
Currently the Austin District has 28 welcoming congregations, and I am delighted. I wanted to honor these churches in a special way.
Peter Castles, associate pastor of Manchaca UMC and a member of the lectionary group that meets in our district office, remembered that the pineapple is a traditional symbol of welcome.
It seems that the first account of the pineapple as a welcome symbol was given by Christopher Columbus and his men, who landed on the island now known as Guadeloupe. The Caribbean people used the pineapple as a symbol of welcome. The Spaniards soon learned that they were welcome if a pineapple was placed by the entrance to a village.
I am giving all our welcoming congregations a pineapple in my attempt to honor the ethos of keeping Austin green.