I am deeply concerned about the state of the church in America these days. I recently read Dechurched with chronicles the rapid decline of church attendance in America. I’d like to offer some mussings for you to consider. This first one I will call The Farm and the Garden.

Figure 1.4. Mainline Protestant Percent of US Population; Davis, Jim, Michael Graham, Ryan P. Burge, and Collin Hansen. 2023. The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Everyone needs a farm. Not a real farm. Farm is a metaphor. It represents what you are doing now. It represents what has worked and what is still working to some degree. It represents what pays the bills. Every church needs a farm. Every person needs a farm. Every business needs a farm. Farms are good.

But, something is wrong in the farm. It is not producing like it used to. The trends are heading in the wrong direction. Things are heading south. We don’t like what we see.

We could replant the farm and do something new. We could bet the farm. Rarely is this a good idea. There is a better way.

We could ignore the problem. We could hope that things magically change. We could keep doing what we have been doing and hope for different results. This is the definition of insanity. There is a better way.

We could hope that prayer alone will fix the problem. Prayer is certainly part of the answerer. But it is rarely the whole answer. Nehemiah said, “We prayed to our God AND posted a guard.” We need to pray to our God and plant a garden. This is the better way.

We could plant a garden. A garden is an experiment. It is research and development. Every church needs a garden. Every business needs a garden. Everybody needs a garden.

Perhaps you have been doing Sunday School for a long, long time. That is the farm. It has worked for a long, long time. (I would argue that Sunday School has been used by God to see more people come to Christ and grow in their faith than any other method known to man.) I wouldn’t get rid of the farm. Don’t bet the farm.

But you might plant a garden. You might start one or more home groups. See what happens. It might work; it might not. It is only a garden.

The wisest man who ever lived said:

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (NIV) Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. (italics added)

What gets my attention is four words I have put in italics: you do not know. Here is another one:

Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NIV) I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Notice the words, “under the sun.” This is our perspective. From God’s perspective, there is not such thing as time and chance. But, from our perspective, there is what looks like time and chance. Application: try lots of stuff; see what works. Plant a garden.

Ecclesiastes 11:1–2 (NIV) Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.  Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

Again the words: you do not know. Application: invest in seven ventures, no, eight. Plant a garden. Maybe, plant six or eight gardens. Try lots of stuff. One more:

Esther 4:14 (NIV) For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Note these words: “who knows?”

There is a bit of uncertainty in following God. Ther is a bit of “who knows?” I appreciate Paul’s word “concluding” in this passage:

Acts 16:10 (NIV) After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Concluding. Meaning: I am not completely sure. But this is how it looks right now. There is a bit of mystery in following God.

Once you plant a garden, the mystery starts to become more clear. The fog begins to dissipate. Nothing clears the fog like reality.

Plant a garden.

And, if you find something works, let someone know. Let me know. It might work here. I don’t have enough time to try everything. We could all use some ideas. We could all use some encouragement.

P.S.
If you don't know what garden to plant, you might try this garden: https://www.joshhunt.com/2023/09/23/the-dechurching-of-america/