1. THE STATE OF THE CONFERENCE

2. 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.

3. The Larger Picture

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

5. Disassembly of Structure: 1974-2012

6. 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%

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

8. 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.

9. Average Attendance of the General Church

10. Average Attendance of Mississippi

11. Payout Rate for the General Church

12. Payout Rate for Mississippi

13. Combined Graph

14. Stages of Development 1950-1970 Developing awareness 1970-1990 Debating causes of decline 1990-2010 Exploring solutions 2010-2030 Crisis: last chances 2030-2050 Selling off the assets 2015-2030 Final Window? Is a turnaround possible within the remaining time? At what point does the leadership lose hope?

15. 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

16. 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)

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