Another hot day in Kansas! The last several days have been filled with rest and hectic moments.



Today I met with our realtor and we reduced the sale price of our home in order to facilitate a quick sale. The housing market in Topeka has slowed a bit and our house has been on the market for only 76 days. We know that God is in control!

We are preparing to meet with the congregation at North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene on Friday evening July 13. The weekend is filled with connection points with people from the church. Sharron and I are really excited about this opportunity. I will be preaching on Sunday morning and if all goes well the membership vote will take place on July 22. God is directing our path!

The church has a great heritage of ministry. The people express friendly greetings to all who come for worship on Sunday. The church has been going through a difficult transition the past 12-15 months. Now is the time for revitalization and renewal of ministry. I believe God is preparing to pour out a great blessing to this church and I pray for the opportunity to lead the church in the days ahead.

In my study time today I read some interesting statistics on why people change churches. Here it is for you:

Why Do People Switch Churches?

More than 1 in 5 adults who switch to a new church move away from traditional worship, finds recent LifeWay Research.

• Worship style of worship:
• Church Switchers often choose a new church that is different in several ways from their previous one, and most end up not attending traditional services as they did formerly. 53% attended traditional style worship; of that, only 29% switched to churches with traditional services.
• The most popular worship styles among switchers are blended worship (38%) and contemporary worship (33%).
• Church Size
• 46% move to a larger church while 29% go to a smaller one and 25% find one the same size as their former church.
• Among those who attended a church of 100 or less, 79% switch to a larger church.
• Among those who attended a church of more than 500, 57% moved to a smaller church. 54% change denominations when switching.
• Denomination loyality
• 44% consider denomination an important selection factor. Among those who have disagreements with their previous church’s teachings or positions on issues, 71% change denominations. Only 4% left a previous church because they could no longer identify with that particular denomination.
• PREACHING
• 87% base their selection on preaching and 90% have found preaching that meets their need for relevance, interest and clarity. 91% consider the preaching at their current church relevant while only 44% say this about their previous church.
• 91% say their current preacher holds their attention vs. only 37% who claim this about their previous preacher; 86% are challenged by the preaching at their new church to live and think biblically compared to only 39% who were previously so challenged.
• SERVANT SPIRIT
• 97% attend worship at their current church; 84% contribute financially vs. 69% previously; and 64% volunteer compared to 51% before.
• CONNECTION POINTS
• Also, 60% attend a small group, Sunday school or discipleship class at their new church. Moreover, 74% become a member of their current church vs. 69% at their previous church.

Source: (Church Leaders Intelligence Report, 6-27-07)


I think finding the right church is very important to a persons spiritual growth. This is a trustworthy saying - think about it!