Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

If your church always has high attendance at every formation program and is fully subscribed to Sunday School, don’t read further. This blog isn’t for you.   

This is for the 99 percent of churches that struggle with finding ways to attract members to formation opportunities. Sunday School is seen as an anachronism in some congregations—it’s fine for the 8-year-olds but the adults already know everything they need to know about the Bible and faith, right? Right?   

So how do we create formation opportunities that will attract people? And secondly, how do we attract beyond the faithful few, the ones who always come when the church doors are open?
We’re experimenting with some short-term, small-group studies. I think short-term is key because people are loathe to commit to a season. Four weeks in a row, maybe. The whole fall? Unlikely. I’m not saying this is a right or a good thing; I’m just reflecting what is. Small group (versus talking head) is important because it helps people build relationships.

Here’s an example: on Saturday, our church hosted a workshop about exploring and writing your spiritual autobiographies. The editor of a new book, When Two or Three are Gathered: Spiritual Autobiographies of Contemporary Episcopalians, was in town for a book signing. (A disclosure: the book is published by Forward Movement, where I work). She led the two-hour workshop, which we’ll follow then with four, one-hour sessions over the next month.  

We had about twenty people – a good turnout for an optional Christian formation program at our church on a Saturday morning. More importantly, most of the attendees were not the usual characters. There was a mix of 8-o-clockers (the early morning service) and the 10 am attendees. A few vestry people, a few younger folks. Some people from our church who I had never met.   

We moved from plenary to small group and back again. We talked about some of the stories in the book, and then began writing our own. At the end, one person shared a moving account of his spiritual struggle with warfare, of his transformation from Navy Seal to Navy chaplain, from warrior to pacifist. I had no idea the horrors he has witnessed, and in those few moments, I learned a great deal about this quiet man who began attending the church a year ago.   

The workshop was a success, and I’m looking forward to the next four sessions. Maybe this grows into a writer’s group that continues to meet. Maybe it ends in October. Either way, that’s OK. People are coming together to learn more about God and each other. And that’s a major win.