THE STATE OF THE CONFERENCE

Purpose: The Mississippi Annual Conference– empowered by love, generosity, justice and apprenticeship– forms spiritual leaders, faith communities and connections so more disciples of Jesus Christ transform the world.

The Larger Picture

For the last ten years worship attendance has decreased on average 52,383 per year. The Denomination’s Decline

Disassembly of Structure:

District Study Districts 534 Churches 32,000 Regression Results An increase of ten churches in a district is expected to decrease district worship attendance by 1.07%

Projections: Constant Decline By 2030, the average district will have 32.4% more local churches than in 1990.

Projections: Constant Decline By 2030, the denomination in the U.S. will likely have declined to a point in which a turnaround is not possible. By 2050, the connection will have collapsed.

Average Attendance of the General Church

Average Attendance of Mississippi

Payout Rate for the General Church

Payout Rate for Mississippi

Combined Graph

Stages of Development Developing awareness Debating causes of decline Exploring solutions Crisis: last chances Selling off the assets Final Window? Is a turnaround possible within the remaining time? At what point does the leadership lose hope?

Challenges Strapped by disciplinary requirements and declining funds Strapped by “heritage” spending, pensions and health benefit costs, and limited budgets Most lack effective leadership Most are poorly located Many have the capacity to grow General Conference Annual Conferences Local Churches

An Orchestrated Turnaround 1.New Church Starts 2. Church Revitalization a. Benchmark b. Healthy Church Initiative c. Others? 3. Clergy Leadership a. Recruitment b. Training 4.Episcopal Leadership a. Conclaves (SCJ, NEJ) b. Projections (six annual conferences)

Projected Turnaround Requirements: new church starts, proven revitalization programs national in scope, no shortage of trained elders and God’s blessings.