I don’t remember a count of members, but membership would be much higher than that. Not seen a report for a year but memory was Sunday morning attendance was around 3000 and sure membership would be higher. You could check attendance with a report. Not sure what happens with all the membership of the closed churches. I know when we merged with a church of 6 their membership was close to 200________________
Are members of several other churches?That will skew things a bit. Plus how many of them are dead but still on the roll. (Might even be voting demoncrat)________________
Re: Of course how many members…
I remember in my younger years we chided the larger denominations for having 500 members and 100 in attendance…And then there is a personal example, we built and moved to another town. We attended the COG there and the church requested out transfer, and we were given ‘The Right Hand of Fellowship.’ Years later we built back in the first town and attended our original church. So we decided to transfer back. The clerk said, We knew you would be back so the pastor said leave them on the books.We have lived in several states and transferred to other COG’s. We are probably members all over the country! hahaha Including Missouri. ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Looks like someone got their hundreds and thousands mixed up. Mistaking 16,000+ for 1600+, not hard to do in a hurry. Messing with member numbers isn’t too bad, but mama would be very upset in the Bank account and that happened in $’s! ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Re: Of course how many members…
I remember in my younger years we chided the larger denominations for having 500 members and 100 in attendance…And then there is a personal example, we built and moved to another town. We attended the COG there and the church requested out transfer, and we were given ‘The Right Hand of Fellowship.’ Years later we built back in the first town and attended our original church. So we decided to transfer back. The clerk said, We knew you would be back so the pastor said leave them on the books.We have lived in several states and transferred to other COG’s. We are probably members all over the country! hahaha Including Missouri. I have been following membership status for years. I’m not in to numerology, but I have learned some interesting facts from numbers. In the COGOP we use to keep tight membership roles – hard to join, easy to get turned out, if you moved you need to transfer, pastor/clerks must keep current addresses of members – but now we have welcomed David’s sin of pride in numbers. We though we had a great addition in the Congo – a reported 400 K members. As I set in our assembly and run the numbers, I found that the number of members to local churches was exactly 1,200 per. Since then leadership in Africa has changed and the numbers are a little more realistic. Will judgement come on denominations who inflate their membership numbers in an effort to justify their leadership and their projected image? We all may be in danger of judgement as David was. As an example the COGIC once claimed something like 6 million members. Now it their were 6 million members in the African-American COGIC, it seems that their influence would be transformation on the 42 million African-Americans in this nation. Especially considering the numbers reported from other African-American denominations.Tell me again, what are the seven things the Lord hates?
In your opinion?We have people on roles unseen for decades or even pushing up daisies. How big of an impact would it have on salaries and egos if we were honest________________
Illinois is in trouble
Re: Illinois is in trouble
Church of God in Illinois
Folks, I was told by a friend that there is information being shared about the Church of God in Illinois. Perhaps I can offer some assistance. I am honored to serve as the Administrative Bishop here and have done so for just over 2 years. Indeed, Illinois is struggling. The state as a whole is in serious trouble. With years of corrupt politics, tax rates that drive businesses out, serious drug problems and a reducing population, the atmosphere is challenging. That being said, we believe the best place for missionaries to be is in the place where they are needed most. There are currently 65 churches in the State. Be aware that many years ago, Chicago and Illinois were separated. The total was much higher before that event. However, we are closing churches. Over the last 3 years, 5 churches have been closed. This is due to no one attending and no success at finding someone who will pastor the churches. The money gained from the sale of these properties is being reinvesting into ministries. Church planting and church revitalization projects are being supported to the best of our ability. We have planted 3 new churches over the last 2 years and plans for more are underway. We have an excellent Church Planting and Revitalization Team that is leading these efforts. The membership of Illinois is currently at 9,531. We only wish that many people were attending our churches!The State has run a financial deficit for many years. We are closer to a balanced budget now than we have been for some time; the percentage has been reduced by around 70% over the last few years. In addition to many reductions, we have indeed sold the State Office and State parsonage in Decatur. We have relocated the state property to Bethalto and have combined the office and parsonage into one facility. We believe that this move will enable us to arrive at our goal of a balanced budget within the next few months. The pastors, churches and members of Illinois are among the best in the world. They are hardworking, passionate and committed. They are leading through very difficult times (so challenging that I believe most other leaders would quit). Some of our churches are growing. There is good optimism around the state. Lots of prayer and hard work is being invested in the state. Young leaders are emerging and new leaders are coming from other areas. The future is bright!However, we have some needs. Perhaps some of the readers here would like to be a part of the solution. We have church planting money (this is not a loan, it’s a gift) and many communities that need a church, but we need church planters. Would you consider joining us? Or perhaps you would like to encourage others to join us.
Pastor Whitter,Thank you so much for coming here and sharing so transparently about the Church of God and its current trials in Illinois. I especially appreciate the many specific ways you shared for which posters here can pray. I will endeavor to pray for Christ’s church in Illinois.
While I’ve never met brother Whitter, I have followed his posts on Twitter for a while now. I can attest to his passion for the state of Illinois and their efforts at church planting. I’ve often wondered why some preachers who can’t find a church haven’t contacted him about ministry opportunities. I actually discussed this with my wife but she’s not too keen on moving back to the snow belt!Perhaps ministers have been unaware of the needs? At any rate,thank you Rick for being so transparent. Surely the Lord will bless your efforts________________“Hell will be filled with people that didn’t cuss, didn’t drink, and may even have been baptized. Why? Because none of those things makes someone a Christian.”
AB Whitter, you have hit the nail on the head!Your state & pretty much anything in the North/West or anything West of the Rockies is fertile ground for church planting.We have lost so many churches over the years that I sincerely doubt we’ll ever make up the lost ground. A simple piece of ground is over $1 million in most California cities. Back in the day one of our founders would rent a store front & begin a street ministry reaching the lost …plain & simple. I’m sad when I hear of churches who have left the call to evangelism to become a center for social reforms & cultural hotspots. However I’m excited when I hear of a young couple forsaking all to plant roots in an unknown community & harvest the souls while working secular jobs during the growth years of their church plant. There is a distinct difference between someone who is a occupational preacher vs. a called minister of the gospel.When my dad, uncles & grandparents were called they went where the Lord would send them, not where the highest salary was offered.I’ve shared this here before, but as an example a few years ago our church offered ANY Lee U. graduate who felt called to pastoral ministry, the opportunity to come out here & to work with our team. The compensation package offer was $50K plus housing.I was told there were 3 highly motivated candidates who would soon send us their resume’ info. Never got a single resume’ or even a phone call.When we inquired as to the status of our offer the excuses were weak at best.Soon after that while in Cleveland for my daughter’s graduation from Lee, I met with some soon to be grads & made them a generous offer to consider coming to the west coast to do ministry but I was summarily turned down.If there is grant money to be used to plant a new church in the awesome state of Illinois I pray that the Holy Spirit will direct the perfect people who will be attracted to the call of planting. May the same Holy Spirit send some church planters to California & the West Coast to fulfill the same calling, amen________________Empty nest syndrome is for the birds!Email me at: [email protected] planters are focused on just one thing …introducing people to Jesus!
Good Comment and exp. It is always good to hear from Admin here on Acts. Only speaking as a member, I do respect anyone in Admin who will take the time to be transparent to the world, our world. Thanks. PS: I do like the idea of parsonage and offices in the same building, a commendable move. I saw that in Canada, and it worked well there, especially on utilities. ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Re: Church of God in Illinois
Wow, that’s honestly pretty upsetting. I’m sure $50k + housing doesn’t go quite as far in Modesto as it goes here in northeast Maryland, but that still sounds like an amazing deal for anyone who felt called to the ministry, especially when you factor in that it’s a position on an established team rather than a solo pastorate. I would think someone who was truly called, as you said, would have jumped at that kind of opportunity. AB Mark Williams even went to bat for us & got a Lee prof to help us weed out the potential candidates but to no avail. 4 years later it still didn’t happen.I was told that the biggest reason nobody wanted to take up the opportunity is because we’re on the West coast. In fact the statement was made that if I made the offer in the S/E the church would have been inundated with candidates.Eventually it will all change I hope.________________Empty nest syndrome is for the birds!Email me at: [email protected] planters are focused on just one thing …introducing people to Jesus!
There is a ‘hometown’ ‘Home State’ or even a ‘home area’ mentality in ‘normal’ humans. I did not have a ‘hometown’ but my wife did. Not many people ‘join’ the military for that very reason, they cannot leave home.In my youth, since I did not have a home town I joined the military and gladly went where thy sent me. I enjoyed leave to see my parents. Today even most preachers kids have a home town. And it is hard to break that hometown ‘thing’. They cannot live more than a days drive from their home. My wife followed me, but ALWAYS wanted to go back to her hometown area.Even having no hometown, I had a girlfriend who had a hometown. And this ‘grown’ 17 yr old laid awake some nights the first couple weeks on Parris Island hoping I would wake up and it all be a bad dream. hahahahahaSince preaching/pastoring has become an occupation or ‘a calling’ (for certain areas) I am guessing there will be a ‘few’ really called to go where they are needed, but mostly the pastors will have to be home grown.I don’t like it, but I think that is going to eventually be the answer. This last two generations of families have raised ‘mama’s sons and daughters’ who cannot HEAR the ‘Call of the wild’. I always thought of it as an adventure, but I am not sure many hear that call anymore. I did not mean to hijack this post. I will start another Post on this subject________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/