As a pastor at Browncroft, I am so thankful for the stories of life change that I get to hear and experience each week. Sometimes this is a miraculous work where God directly intervened in a time of need. I got to hear of these instances twice over the past two weeks and am amazed at how God’s at work. But likely even more so, these stories of life change happen through God working through everyday followers of Christ, impacting the lives around them. I am so thankful to be a part of a community where God is moving and His people are living with hearts open, seeking after Him.
Back in May we completed a brief survey to gauge a bit of the “pulse” of Browncroft, to help us in our future planning. Over one thousand Browncrofters completed this survey – thank you!
Browncroft Sunday attendance has continued to grow over the past year. This was the primary reason for this survey, as our Sunday attendance has grown well over 10% each year for the past four years. Currently our 10:30 service is regularly nearing capacity and our 9:00 service attendance is also very strong and growing. This is extremely exciting for all of us in the church, and we collectively want to shepherd our full congregation and steward this growth well.
In this survey, we found that nearly 60% of Browncrofters are new in the past five years, and that 40% of you have called Browncroft home for over six years. An obvious benchmark here is the effects of Covid, which also led to a re-tooling of many ministries in our church. We are so thankful for the 40% who have called Browncroft home for an extended time, and are excited for the 60% who are newer.
I am so thankful to be a part of a community where God is moving and His people are living with hearts open, seeking after Him.
Of the 60% who are new to Browncroft, about half have a background in a similar church, and half do not. In addition, God is drawing younger adults and young families to our church. Of those who have attended Browncroft for less than a year, about 45% are under the age of 40. With this growth and changing dynamic, there are new discipleship challenges and opportunities. This reality is causing our ministries to reflect on how we can use the strengths of our congregation to more greatly impact and shepherd those both in and outside of our congregation.
In this survey we also asked about potential new service times, including the possibility of a new noon or evening Sunday service. Each suggested service time had about 20% of respondents signaling that they would consider this new time their primary new service time. And this is something we are currently weighing. As we are currently in our planning stages for the fall, we are prayerfully beginning to discuss and consider how and when we may add a new service time to provide an even greater opportunity for those in our community to worship together and hear the good news of Christ.
As we head into the summer months, thank you for trusting God and Browncroft. Your board, congregational leadership, and the incredible staff of Browncroft are continually praying for you, and that God would move in mighty and fresh ways through our church and our community. And we look forward to using these brief data points to help us better plan and prepare for how to lead our church best in the near future.
