Collateral

Yesterday I was thinking about collateral. Collateral has a huge impact on the health of a church. Often the first question about a church is, "what is the attendance?" That is an important indicator of church health, but not the only one. There are all kinds of collateral. Here are a few.
1. Longevity collateral
The longer a Pastor stays in a place, the more effective they should become. The same is true for volunteers in a church.
2. Doctrinal collateral
There are some people in our church who are in their 60s, who were born into Spirit filled Assembly of God families. Those folks have been studying and growing in the power of the Lord for six decades. That is and should be doctrinal collateral.
3. Social collateral
People like to be in a church where things are going right, but also where they have made meaningful friendships. Social collateral can be created in a short period of time, but is still huge.
4. Financial collateral
When a church is 42 years old it has a different outlook financially than a church that is 142 years old.

At the other two churches I served at there was collateral that I never recognized. It was there when I arrived. I just assumed that is the way things had always been. The church I did youth ministry in, is now 102 years old. The church I served in next is now close to 80 years old. The church I pastor is 42 years old. Just think, babies born in the first two churches when they were planted are likely dead, perhaps for decades. Those babies had children and they are in their late fifties or sixties today. Babies born in our church when it was planted are sending their kids to High School and grade school this morning.

I know of churches that are 150 and 160 years old who have an attendance of 45 or 50. I think to myself, "how do you survive?" The answer is collateral, and I don't just mean money. It is the other collateral that matters more in some situations. The more you think about this the more meaningful it is going to become.

So, as I work this week I have been telling myself, "We are building collateral, keep planting seeds, keep making steps forward."