By Phil Maynard
September 26,2016
Every church I meet with expresses in some way a desire to reach new people and engage them in becoming growing disciples of Jesus Christ. It is also true, however, that almost every church I meet with is in decline, resulting in fewer people participating in worship, less of a focus on people growing as disciples, and a diminishing impact on our communities.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
I had a conversation with a good friend recently who shared that she and her husband had finally decided to leave the United Methodist Church. This couple had been very faithful members of their local Methodist congregation–she had even led the disciple-making process. But after much soul-searching, they had moved to a non-denominational church, a church that she describes as still “talking about Jesus.” They a