Summer Time Slump

So, here we are going into our eigth month as a church. Things have seemed to "mellow" since summer time hit, and I often find myself asking how mellow I am comfortable with. I think the danger of relaxing a little bit is the sense that people will lose the urge or drive to continue reaching out to the lost and to the community. I realize that everything doesn't have to be high-intensity, and high-energy all the time, but I seem to find myself getting restless in times of relaxation! I guess I just don't think that the church should relax when there are thousands of people around us who don't know Christ. Then I find myself getting frustrated when I think about the "summer time slup". That is the term used by church leaders to describe what happens in churches all around the U.S. during the summer...people stop coming as often. It is like church falls into the same category as school, and it is time to take the summer break. That has always frustrated me, and I guess I was nieve enought to believe that the "summer time slup" wouldn't happen at a church as exciting as Freedom Life. Man, things were rolling, we were having parking lot problems (didn't have enough room), and having to have discussions about running out of chairs and launching a second service...then summer hit. It was like a mass exodus! We went from having around 155 people to having around 110 people in just one month of beautiful weather. I realize that many people (including myself) have been traveling, and do travel throughout the summer, but I was still shocked. I guess I underestimated the power of our culture. Numbers really isn't the important thing though. To me, the important thing is wondering were the people have gone. Wondering why warm weather could immediately make going to church a matter of question or discussion instead of a no-brainer. I think about the power of the early church, and the description that Acts gives, that they met together daily for worship, and communion. It goes on to say that God added to there numbers daily those who were being saved. That is what is important...daily, those that were being saved!!! So what am I gonna do about it? The same thing that I encourage anyone who asks me about attendance to do- invite someone, share my faith, give someone a dvd, etc. Because the truth is, if I am not doing my part, I don't feel like I have earned the right to complain. I have learned something in the past eight months of church planting, "It is easy to criticize, but difficult to manage."
Thinking about it another way, I guess it is encouraging that our church has grown so quickly since being launched, and that we have such a solid core of people who give so much of themselves to make FLC all that it is. I know that most people would be bursting with joy to experience the kind of growth that we have seen, and I am truly excited about that. But I am even more excited about what God still has in store for our future, and I am not ready to settle for celebrating yesterdays victories. I am ready to face tomorrows battles! See you at the Forefront of the soul war!

Selah.