SDA Membership

[Gregory Matthews]

See:

https://atoday.org/why-the-church-needs-a-membership-adjustment-before-2020/

 

[JoeMo]

I agree that membership roles around the world are exaggerated to a greater or lesser extent.  While the world church claims over 20 million members,  the number of active members ( I'll loosely define that as those who attend church at least once a month or send tithes and offerings to the church whether or not they actually attend) at more like 7 to 10 million.  That's only a guess based on my experience in the many churches I have attended; not any actual data.  So yes - the church should adjust it's membership.  Probably so should most other denominations.

But should the number of active SDA's define how we're doing in our missionary efforts?  In my experience, every person baptized in an SDA church or evangelistic outreach is baptized into the membership of a specific SDA congregation or conference.  The great commission commands us to baptize people in the Name of Jesus; not the name of the Adventist Church.

I know many former SDA's who were baptized through evangelistic outreach.  The reason many of them leave is that the church isn't what it was "advertised" to be (neither is any other church IMHO). Nonetheless, most of them are still believers; they just attend (and give their money) to other churches or mission outreaches.

Another reason many leave is that denominational worship as seen in many SDA churches is not relevant to them any more.  This is especially true among younger converts who (at least claim to) believe; but are offended by much of what they consider to be irrelevant preaching.

So what's more important, gaining membership for the SDA denomination or gaining members for the coming Kingdom?  I understand that the two overlap somewhat; but there are probably many former SDA's and people who never considered Adventism who will be in the Kingdom.  I would also venture to say that there are some SDA members who won't be there.

[dgrimm60]

GREGORY ===THANK  you for  posting  this  article===== I  am   sure  this  has  been  talked  about

many  times with  people  saying  that bringing people  to  JESUS  CHRSIT  is  the  most  important

thing  any follower of   GOD   can  do====YES  we  as  true  followers  of  CHRSIT need to  teach people

about the  bible  truths===but  after the  people  are  taught the bible  truths  they need to gather 

together and  worship GOD  with  these  bible  truths====so these  people  need to  have  a  meeting

place to  worship and they  need  to  worship  with other people that  worship  in this same manner

now I agree that  most  S.D.A. churches  in the  UNITED  STATES   has  only about 50% of the members are

active  in the  church====but  GOD  has  people  all over the  world  in  other  countries has the  members

are  so  active  that more  churches  have to  be  built ===JESUS  died  to  save people  of the  whole  world

this   is  REALLY  GOD'S  WORK ===he  is  just  allowing  people  to  work for  him to  spread HIS BIBLE

TRIUTHS====we  who  claim to be  followers  of  JESUS CHRIST ===to   do  what the  bible  says to do

preach the  bible  truths  to all who  will  want to  hear====every  organization needs to  have  a measuring tool

to  see how they are  doing even in the bible  it  talks about  how numbers of  people  were  added to the  church

daily===the bible  even say to  go teach and baptize into  all the  world====the  bible   also  says to make

disciples===the  more  you  have  they  more  you  need  to  keep records of the number ===so  let  the G.C.

keep the records I  see  no  harm in this ===my  job  is  to  plant the spiritual seeds  of the bible truths

 

dgrimm60

[pierrepaul]

 

20 hours ago, JoeMo said:

The great commission commands us to baptize people in the Name of Jesus; not the name of the Adventist Church. 

Amen. The church errs in my opinion by tying baptism to membership in the denomination.

[pierrepaul]

I was once on the board of a congregation where the head elder opposed any and all "clean-ups" of the membership rolls because of the concomitant loss of representation at the conference session where delegates were apportioned according to the congregations' registered members.

The pastor went along with it, since no pastor wants to preside over a church with declining membership. Membership statistics are part of their performance review.