Many congregations in the ELCIC, and this is true for the mainline churches, face an uncertain future. In fact the only future many congregations face is that they have no future. They will die. These congregations were once vibrant centres of mission and ministries. Now for various reasons they will cease to exist.

There are many factors which account for congregations dying. Two prominent reasons are lack of financial means and lost of membership. The two are not unrelated. Changes in demography in the society, attitude toward institutional religion and lifestyles play a major part in the demise of many congregations. Whatever the reasons why congregations die, the fact is, if congregations are to not merely survive, but be vibrant and grow, then they have to read the writing on the wall and act with faith, hope and vision to secure its future. Here is the thing though: this is not the responsibility of the Synod, pastor and church council only. The life and future; ministry and mission; character and workings of a congregation rest with the entire congregation to shape.

Perhaps we cannot guarantee a congregation will not die. What is in our power to guarantee is that we can so exercise stewardship over the congregation; its assets, the gospel ministry and our gifts that we can give our congregation the best chance possible to face the challenges thrown its way by society, culture, circumstances, and emerge standing strong. This is what motivated Bethesda’s Evangelism Ministry Team(EMT) to host a special forum for its members between the ages 25-55 years.

The EMT invited those members to a special forum to engage in a visioning exercise for the future. We wanted to hear from this demography their vision for the church in the next few decades, how and where they fit into the vision, how the congregation can be more responsive to them, how can we prepare ourselves to better respond to the various challenges; present and future. The discussions produced many great suggestions and ideas which can be the bases of action soon by the EMT. The EMT will analyse the results of the discussions and formulate plans and programmes which can build up the congregation spiritually, numerically and in mission.

There will be a follow-up forum in the summer. Expect something good. Let us all get involved. It is our congregation and God’s mission.