Special Report on the State of the Church from 1978

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Special Report on the State of the Church (1978)

INTRODUCTION

This report is the result of a directive from the 102nd General Assembly to the Boards of World Mission and Congregational Life to “consider the serious relative and actual decline of the members of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, the possible relative decline in income and other aspects of the church’s life … and to report on the state of the church with recommendations”.

Several studies have been undertaken in the past regarding [the] state or health of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.  Notable among these are the Life and Mission Project, the P. S. Ross Report, and the 1971 report of the Board of Evangelism and Social Action on Declining Church Membership.  In addition, recent studies have been done which provide useful information for the purposes of the report.  Canadian attitudes and longings have been researches by Grant Maxwell in “Project Feedback” and by Reginald W. Bibby in “Project Canada”. Also, Membership Trends have been studied by both the United Methodist Church in the United States and the United Presbyterian Church in the USA.  Several denominations have been actively pursuing the principles of church growth.

Since the committee was unable to do an extensive survey of our church at the present time, this report is based largely on the findings of existing reports.  Some information has been gathered from interviews, and from consultations with leaders and youth in various parts of the country.  These interviews and consultations have tended to persuade the committee that the problems identified and the solutions proposed in the reports quoted have relevance also for The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

Much has happened in Canadian society which has had a direct bearing on trends in church membership and the degree of interest and involvement on the part of church members.  This report deals first with trends in society and then shows how these trends have affected the church.

  1. In Society
    1. The Quality of Everyday LifeA characteristic of Canadian society in recent decades has been its trends towards spending more and more on consumer goods.  This has had a profound effect on the quality of life as people perceive and experience it. Coast to coast, Grant Maxwell has found, “widespread discontent with the predominating consumer way of life concerning both its shallow quality and its inequalities.  For many, an abundance of goods and services does not add up to quality of living, but rather to ‘a poverty of endless wanting more and more things’. There is too much affluence for some Canadians, while others lack the necessities of life.”
    2. Population Shifts and ImmigrationFor many years the Canadian population has been moving from smaller rural communities to larger centres of population.  While rural communities have been decreasing in size, cities have received large numbers of immigrants from other countries.  Large sections of some Canadian cities are inhabited by people of ethnic origin.
    3. LonelinessGrant Maxwell, in his feedback experiment has discovered what has described as “the epidemic of loneliness”. “Canadians in all walks of life are calling out for help, for evidence that ‘somebody cares’ in an increasingly mechanized and depersonalized society. Isolation and alienation are caused, at least partially, by social systems and procedures which separate people from one another … managing their days and their lives: deciding what they shall do and whom they shall see.”
    4. Search for Better Relationships“Many Canadians seek a better quality of relationships in home life, school life and work life: between men and women, wives and husbands, parents and children, students and teachers, employers and employees, followers and leaders in all aspects of social discourse.” “The Women’s Movement partially responds to the deeply-felt needs of numerous women who wish to shift the emphasis in relationships from role fulfillment to personal expression, from external rules to internal decisions.
    5. Marriage and Family LifeFamilies today tend to be smaller, more isolated units when compared with the larger, multi-generational families of a few decades ago.  There is also an increasing number of single-parent families, couples which choose to remain childless, and those who see fit to choose an option other than marriage. None of these groupings fit easily into the traditional idea of the family.
    6. PluralismCanadian society is becoming increasingly pluralistic with a variety of religious and moral standards which do not easily fit together in a common consensus.  “Many people become ‘confused’ and ‘mixed up’ when they are confronted by so many conflicting opinions and values.  Anxious parents and other educators ask: ‘How can we best help our children prepare for life?’ “
    7. EducationEducation in recent decades has been aimed at equipping the student to be a productive member of society.  It has been assumed that education can solve all our problems and enable us to meet all our needs.  Too little time has been spent on the study of values, and the improving of the quality of life.  People may learn to be very “successful” in the business world, but fail to learn how to relate to other people.  Furthermore, education has tended to place people in separate “classes” according to their skills. Those trained in one profession or trade are often unable to communicate with those trained in another field.
    8. TelevisionTelevision has become a significant molder of public attitudes and responses.  It has contributed to a false kind of individualism and a decline in effective communication.  The real world is viewed from the perspective of the playworld of violence and dishonesty, which gives rise to a cynicism which denies the better side of human nature.
  1. In the Church
    1. Growing Churches/Declining ChurchesThe trend among many churches of the mainline denominations has been a decline in membership and general interest.  On the other hand, there are some churches which have shown phenomenal growth in recent years.  While many churches seem to have been affected adversely by the trends in society, there are some which seem to have found in it their “day of opportunity”. And growing congregations are to be found in all denominations.  What are the differences between churches which are growing and those that are not.

      One of the characteristics of growing churches is the nature of their fellowship.  They may be described as “outward looking”, anxious to share what they have found with others, and ready to receive them warmly into their fellowship.  Their members demonstrate a high degree of commitment and seek to live out their faith “seven days a week”. Churches which are declining are more inward-looking and at least give the impression that they are more concerned with self-preservation than serving their community.

      There is a lower degree of personal commitment among their members and there often exists what Grant Maxwell calls the “Sunday-Monday split between creed and deed” and sees as “the main cause for disaffection with religious institutions.”

    2. Church Growth Related to Traditional MeasuresA comparative study of 600 United Presbyterian congregations contrasted growing congregations with declining congregations and showed that growing congregations have the following characteristics:
  1. Strong Pastoral Leadership.  Members show significantly more satisfaction with the overall pastoral leadership of the church.  The pastor is seen as the key to church growth.  Growing congregations are satisfied with their pastors’ preaching, calling, sensitivity to members’ needs, prayers, and ability to generate enthusiasm, warmth and competence.
  2. More Active Church Programming.  Growing churches are characterized by more active programs with a higher degree of participation than declining churches.  In growing churches, people are somewhat more open to new ideas and approaches and are mutually supportive.
  3. More Lay Responsibility for Member Recruitment.  Growing churches have more participation by leaders and members in new member recruitment and training for membership.  New members are used more in church life.  There is a lower age for confirmation, and significantly more scheduled for confirmation.
  4. Greater Percentage of Members Attending Worship.  There is greater overall satisfaction with the worship services in growing congregations.
  5. Located in a Growing Community. Growing congregations tend to be located in areas which are newer and growing and which have a growing school population.  They also are more affluent and have more new residents who are slightly younger, with moderately fewer ethnic minority people and fewer older people.  There are fewer Protestant churches nearby.
  6. More Related to Surrounding Community.  Growing churches tend to be slightly more similar to, involved with, and supportive of the community that surrounds the church building.
  7. More Involved in Social Action. Growing congregations are seen as giving more attention to the spiritual growth of their members.  They have Bible study groups and prayer groups in their church program.

iii.         Youth and the Church

There are fewer youth who are actively involved in the life of the church than formerly.  This may be due in part to a tendancy to reject all authority.  They see the Church as authoritarian and insensitive to their needs, excluding your from the process of decision making.  The apparent contradiction between profession and action on the part of some church members has “turned off” many youth.  They cite injustices in society and wonder why the church seems not to care, or to be able to do anything about them. Young people have not lost interest in religion.  There are many indications that interest in matters of faith and commitment is growing, but the institutional church seems to hold little appeal for today’s youth.

Reginald W. Bibby’s research on The Nature of Religiosity in Canada (1976) refers to both youth and adults when it includes the finding that “as Canada moves into the last part of the twentieth century, its people know a very high level of religious interest, belief, and activity.”
Grant Maxwell, in his report, comes to somewhat the same conclusion, but indicates that the majority of this respondents “expect organized religion to become less important to them, at least in its present forms.”

iv.         Worship Life

In the United States, Europe, and to a slight extent in Canada, there has been a lively and revitalizing interest in the sacraments, rituals, liturgies and their meaning for the life and integration of the community of faith.  This movement has not yet seriously affected The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

In some churches the worship leader(s) has established a “doer-observer” relationship.  The congregation observes the celebrant performing the religious rites, and does not feel an integral part through participation.  The sense of a community of God’s people worshipping him is weak.

Preaching continues to hold a central place in the act of public worship, but there has been a tendency to blur the line between Christian faith and national culture.  James Smart writes about “the cultural subversion of the Biblical faith.”

v.         Education in the Church

Enrolment in the educational programs of most denominations is down, but so also is the enrolment in public education.  The exception is those churches with a vigorous bussing program.  They gather in children and youth from a wide area rather than minister only to the families of their members and the immediate community. Studies have not been done to discover what happens to children who were introduced to the church through a bussing program.

The quality of church education is often not what it should be.  It gets relegated to a place of secondary importance, with little emphasis on teacher training, and the updating of resources and equipment. Likewise, often not enough care is taken with respect to the content of what is being taught.  The approach to education has been that of “telling” rather than involving the participants in research and discovery.  This results in an assumption being made that church education is unimportant and uninteresting.

At a time when secular education has been exploding with all kinds of opportunities for night classes and continuing education, the church has been slow to see the importance of adult education.  National church policies have been emphasizing adult education for a number of years, but relatively few congregations have taken the matter seriously.

Among churches which have promoted adult education there has been a significant trend to small groups for study and discussion.  Some do Bible study, while others study social issues, or the mission of the church.  Surveys indicate a lack of understanding of the church’s mission among people at “the grass roots”. Many groups study the topic at hand as “information”, but fail to follow it through to the point of action, or the implementation of decisions reached.

vi.         Lay Involvement

Some churches have been successful involving a large percentage of their members in the programs of the church and in its decision-making processes. It is an axiom that when people have little opportunity to participate in decision-making they have very little ownership in the decisions made and, therefore, are not likely to do much about their implementation.  One of the trends in the life of the church has been the increased participation of the laity.

vii.         Fellowship

Churches with a relatively high degree of lay involvement are churches which are characterized by a warm and caring fellowship.  They convey the message to members and strangers alike that they are welcome and wanted, and that quality relationships are a high priority.  One of the findings of a study of membership trends in the United Methodist Church of the United States is that what attracts people to the church and holds them is a sense of being accepted, loved, and wanted.  People look to the church for the fulfillment of their basic spiritual and social needs.  When the church supplies what people perceive to be essential to their well-being, they will increase the level of their support and participation. When the church fails to meet those needs, people turn elsewhere.

PERCEIVED STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA

Our study has revealed both strengths and weaknesses in The Presbyterian Church in Canada.  They are mentioned here in the hope that the church may capitalize on its strengths and take corrective action with respect to its weaknesses.

    1. Importance of WorshipTraditionally, The Presbyterian Church in Canada has held to the importance of the public worship of God and sought to encourage its people to make worship a priority.  Care has been taken to preserve “the purity of worship” from gimmicks and novelties, and distractions from its central purpose of “glorifying God”.

      Unfortunately, this high view of worship has prompted some to feel that worship must be conducted only by those who have been trained for it, and the participation of others would endanger its purity.  The sense of the community of faith at worship together, celebrating their faith and bearing witness to its power in their lives is lost to a strict formalism.

    2. An Educated MinistryThe strong emphasis of the Presbyterian Church on an educated ministry has helped to maintain a high standard of academic training on the part of its clergy, and a firm adherence to the basic tenets of Reformed theology.  Academic theology alone, however, important as it is, does not prepare a minister for the work of “ministry”. It is perceived as a weakness that strategies have not been found to graduate ministers with a greater degree of proficiency in the practice of ministry.  It is also a matter of regret that more ministers do not pursue continuing education.
    3. GovernmentThe Presbyterian form of church government is perceived as one of the denomination’s great strengths.  Properly understood and practiced, this form of government provides a unique balance between local authority and responsibility and the obvious advantages of a graduated system of courts expressing the “doctrine of the whole church”.  In theory, the authority, responsibility and resources of the entire denomination are put to work as the parts seek mutually to guide, sustain and help one another.  In practice this mutual ministry breaks down when courts become jealous of the prerogative and partisan in their judgements.  Members of the local congregation reel remote from the courts of the church.
    4. Social ConcernAs an expression of its Reformed tradition, the Presbyterian Church seeks to speak with a prophetic voice, and to minister with a compassionate heart to the needs of society.  Linked closely with its proclamation of the gospel, this social ministry preserves the church from isolationism and from a “spirituality” which remains aloof from human need.  Evangelism and Social Action are held together as an expression of the fullness of the gospel and its ministry to the whole person.  In some instances, uncertainty as to who should speak for the church results in a slowness of response to certain social issues.
    5. Survival MotiveIt is perceived as a great weakness that a church which holds the importance of worship and the importance of ministry to the needs of the whole person, at the same time gets caught in a survival syndrome.  An examination of the annual reports and yearly budgets of many congregations will indicate that their first concern is to maintain the institution.  The plans and provision for “ministry” comes after all the local and domestic needs have been cared for.
    6. Lack of Understanding of MissionMany people in the Presbyterian Church lack a clear understanding of the purpose and mission of the church. Mission and outreach programs are evaluated by the number of new members received, rather than by the service and witness provided to the community.  People outside the church are quick to “see through” such programs and to assume that whatever the church does, its motive is self-serving.  Many Presbyterians are hesitant about sharing their faith.  They regard it as a “private matter” which you don’t talk about.  And the church has done all too little to overcome such an attitude or to equip people to share their faith with freedom and joy.
    7. Tradition and RootsWhile many Presbyterians still trace their roots to Scotland as can the whole church, it is a definite weakness that such emphasis is sometimes placed on its Scottish heritage that it appears as an “ethnic church”. In most modern communities the church is called on to minister people from many countries (now Canadians!). In both theory and practice the many Presbyterian congregations have failed to welcome and to minister to and with other ethnic communities.
    8. CongregationalismNotwithstanding the strength of court system, one of the weaknesses of The Presbyterian Church in Canada is a tendency to congregationalism.  Congregations tend to be a law unto themselves in most matters except the calling of a minister, which is done through the Presbytery.  The Presbytery is much less of a “bishop” to the congregations than the system of government calls for.  The pastoral care and oversight of the congregations within the bounds only gets attention when a problem arises, and then it is often too late.  Congregations do not expect to receive supp[ort from the Presbytery, and Presbyteries do not require congregations to implement the decisions of the court.  Frequently less than half of the congregations take part in presbytery workshops for stewardship education, teacher or eldership training.  Some do not even hear about it! Channels of communication are normally through the minister.  If he or she is not interested in a proposal, or chooses not to do anything about it, there is little accountability before the Presbytery.
    9. Decision MakingThe Presbyterian Church has a long tradition of making decisions on the basis of a simple majority vote.  Decisions are made without taking time to “hear” what the minority is saying and , without trying to reach a consensus.  Such decisions are weak, lacking support and “ownership” on the part of the decision-making body.  One example is the fact that some decision made by the General Assembly (the highest court of the church) are not seen as binding in the lower courts.  Synods, Presbyteries, and Sessions can opt out at will, and some do!
  1. Implicating for the Church

i.         Self Image

The Presbyterian Church in Canada continues to lose approximately 2500 members per year and this is a condition which has continued for almost two decades.  Because many people assume an effective church is a growing church, the failure to produce increasing membership statistics has suggested to both church members and others that the church is failing and becoming irrelevant. On the other hand, it was concern over declining statistics which, in part at least, promoted this study.  If a careful analysis of the nature of the church’s decline can lead to corrective measures, the negative effect of the decline can be turned into a positive one.

ii.         A Ministry to the Lonely?

If, as Grant Maxwell has shown, loneliness is abroad in our society in epidemic proportions, what is the church doing about it? Is “anybody listening?” “Anybody care?” Here is one opportunity  for the church to be the church and to extend to others the healing fellowship with which it has been endowed by God.

iii.         Inner-city/Ethnic Ministries

The Presbyterian Church, if it would be a growing church, needs to come to terms with the areas of rapid growth and the areas of ethnic population.  If the church can send people to other lands to share the gospel with other cultures, why can’t it join in the gospel ministry with people of other cultures who have come to live in this country?

iv.         Mutuality in Mission

As the Christian Church becomes indigenous in other lands, and Christian immigrants from those lands come to Canada, is the Presbyterian Church prepared to welcome these Christians and to share with them in their life and work, and in their leadership roles? Is The Presbyterian Church in Canada open to becoming a church that is increasingly multi-cultural and multi-racial in its membership?

v.         Commitment to Evangelism

Theologically speaking, the Presbyterian Church has a strong sense of mission, but in the practical terms of getting out and doing it, much is left to be desired.  Evangelism needs to be translated from the pulpit to the life and work of the laity.  It needs to become a priority in the church at all levels.

vi.         Towards a Whole-of-Life Response

“One of the major challenges confronting the church is that many Christians still seemingly fail to see the connections between faith and justice, prayer and politics.  There is evident need to stress more than ever the both/and nature of Christianity as a whole-of-life response: that along with Word and Sacrament it involves a life-view and a way of living that commits Christians to faith and social justice, love and responsible stewardship.”

vii.         Leadership

In the Grant Maxwell report, a majority of Feedback respondents see leaders, and religious leaders in particular, as – out of touch with everyday experiences, and indifferent to everyday problems of the people they are called to serve.

Such a comment has important implications for the Church. “Believers and disbelievers alike expect religious leaders to be present among them, not above them.  This ministry of presence – listening and responding, and especially listening with one’s heart – is imperative in a complex, often impersonal and even inhuman society.  Of all institutions, the Church in particular is expected to care for people as human beings.  And why not, given the Good News Christians profess to believe?  A critical review of appointment books would be one practical way for leaders to start appraising patterns of service: How representative are the people I talk to on the average day? Do they live on both sides of the tracks?”

viii.         Decision-making and Implementation

Ways and means will need to be found to involve people more effectively in decision-making at all levels of the church’s life.  Extensive consultation between national agencies and people at the “grass roots” would help inform the agencies of the real needs of the people they serve and, at the same time, would bring about a greater degree of commitment to the decisions made.  Better communication would mean more effective implementation.

ix.         Stewardship of Time and Resources

The Presbyterian Church, in its corporate stewardship of time and money, should weigh carefully the proportion of its resources devoted to the maintenance of the institutions compared to that which is spent on ministry with people.  Maintenance and mission goals can never be separated entirely, the one from the other, but great care needs to be taken that the church may be seen to be a faithful steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it affects and changes the lives of people.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

In the light of the trends in church and society noted above, and the attitudes and problems affecting the decline in church membership and involvement, several proposals are offered.

i.         The Congregation

Functionally, the congregation is central to the life and mission of the church.  If congregations become self-centered and satisfied to maintain the status quo, there can be no growth and no mission.  The very existence of the church depends on its fulfilling of the divine mandate to “make disciples of all …” The church is for others and congregations must ever turn their attention outward beyond themselves.  Even the careful nurture of fellowship within the congregation must not be “for members only”.

The following suggestions are offered as a means of promoting a vigorous mission-styled congregational life. (It should be understood that these suggestions are best understood as a “package” rather than a list of “options”.

a)                  Biblical preaching which is relevant to the needs of today

b)                  A presentation of the gospel which calls for commitment to Jesus Christ, and obedience to his will.

c)                  A carefully planned program of Christian nurture for all ages

d)                  Opportunities for the development of meaningful fellowship for its members (including lapsed members!) and those who are yet outside the church

e)                  Increased opportunities for Bible Study and a strong undergirding with prayer

f)                    Programs which nurture wholesome family life and which include singles as well as single parents

g)                  Congregational planning and goal-setting on a continual basis

h)                  A strategy of intentional mission to the community and the world

i)                    On-the-job training in the methods and techniques of congregational evangelism and church growth

j)                   An on-going stewardship emphasis

k)                  More participation in decision-making by laity and youth.

ii.         Courts of the Church

In order to strengthen the connectional links within the church and to ensure accountability, the following are proposed –

a)                  Sessions should be required to report to Presbytery within six months indicating what action was taken on any matter remitted by the Presbytery

b)                  Presbyteries (and Synods) should be required to act on remits from the General Assembly and to report in writing to the Clerks of Assembly what action was taken

c)                  Presbyteries should exercise their responsibilities in oversight and support of congregations collectively, and ministers individually within their bounds.

iii.         General Assembly Boards

In order to ensure congregational support and ownership of the policies and programs of the General Assembly Boards, extensive consultation with Presbyteries and congregations should be undertaken.  The Boards and their staff members should be prepared to explain and interpret each other’s policies and programs.

iv.         The Colleges

To prepare people for ministry and service in the church, ways and means should be found to include as part of the regular courses in theological education the principles of evangelism and church growth, the significance and techniques of family life ministries, and a grounding in the principles and methods of church education, and skills in communication and inter-personal relations.  If this additional work should require an extra year of study, the two-year O.M. appointment should be reduced to one year.  In fact, the one-year appointment should rather be an internship under the guidance of a qualified supervisor.  If it should prove too difficult to implement the above suggestions, at least there should be made available, and mandatory in some form or other, continuing education courses which would include the areas of ministry identified above.

Recommendation 1: (Adopted)

That the General Assembly summon all members of The Presbyterian Church in Canada to a renewed commitment to the ministry and mission of the church, and that the Board of Congregational Life be directed:

a)      To develop a congregational pilot project within the bounds of each of the Synods to model the possibilities for renewal through church growth concepts and programs, and

b)     In conjunction with other Boards (viz Ministry and World Mission) to engage specialists in the area of growth and renewal, and that additional funding be provided in 1978 and 1979 to assist in a process of planning a national strategy for growth and renewal.

NOTE: The Board of World Mission agreed to delete part (a) above.

Recommendation 2: (Amended)

That the courts of the church be instructed to give more adequate  expression to the system of responsibility and accountability provided for within the Presbyterian form of church government by the implementation of suggestions such as are proposed in this report.

Recommendation 3: (Amended)

That the Colleges of The Presbyterian Church in Canada be directed to explore ways and means of implementing the proposals contained in the report for the incorporation of courses in “ministry” within their regular curricula, and the provision of such courses in a program of continuing education, and report to the 105th General Assembly.

Recommendation 4:  (Carried)

That beginning in 1980 participation in continuing education courses become mandatory for clergy and other professional church workers as proposed in this report, that guidelines be developed by the Board of Ministry for presentation to the 105th General Assembly, and that Presbyteries  be responsible for the supervision of such a program.

Recommendation 5: (Amended)

That this report, together with a study guide prepared by the Board of Congregational Life, be remitted to presbyteries and congregations for ongoing study and implementation, and that initial reports be submitted to the Board of Congregational Life by January 31, 1980, for submission to the General Assembly of that year.

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