On this week’s episode, Thom and Sam discuss why the typical church must replace a third of its congregation every year to maintain the same number of attendees. Most pastors feel this problem, but the Church Answers team has data on the issue.
The dilemma: A typical church will lose a third of its attendance every year. What if you are a church of 100?
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- Death: 1 person
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- Moving: 9 people
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- Transfer: 7 people
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- Frequency: 15 people
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It’s unnerving, isn’t it? When our faith feels ungrounded, untethered . . . unreal. When our certainty is adrift, as though an undercurrent has pulled us away from shore into the deep, into the darkness.
This is disillusionment.
This is spiritual pain.
This is losing hope.
And if this is you—if you’re in a dark night of the soul—please know that you are not alone. (And you are not as far away from safety as you may feel or fear.) Though faith shines best in full sun, it grows depth in the dark.
The night is not your enemy.
In fact, the night is necessary.
In The Night Is Normal, revered author, speaker, and mentor Dr. Alicia Britt Chole offers a groundbreaking perspective that reveals spiritual disillusionment as an unexpected friend. Within these sacred pages, you’ll explore how:
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- The roots—and fruits—of spiritual pain are actually an invitation to deep love
- Mistaking emotions for devotion and viewing abundance as proof of obedience create an unsustainable model for Christianity
- A strong night-faith can lead you into something far more satisfying than understanding and far more powerful than peace
Our reality is broken, but God has not changed. Whether you’re disillusioned with God, yourself, or others, Alicia offers practical and soul-full tools to help you navigate the night and find your way to a livable and love-saturated hope.
Your night will not last forever.
Within it, there is priceless treasure
that’s simply too weighty to be sourced in sunshine.
Eligible high schoolers can earn college credit online, the first class is free (not including books and course materials), and they get a significant discount ($166 per credit vs. $613 per credit) for every subsequent class. They can choose from more than 30 available courses. Here are just a few additional details not included on the flier:
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- This program is open to third-culture kids, homeschool students, private and public school students, etc.
- Students can start during any eight-week session – summer, fall, spring, each semester has two sessions as indicated on the flier
- The first-class free offer is limited. I do not yet know for how long, but we should market it as temporary for now.
- Many students have successfully completed courses during their normal school year. Classes are asynchronous, so they can access course materials at their convenience.
- Sometimes universities have similar programs and they make classes specific for high school students – HS students sitting with other HS students. In our program, participants sit in on real college courses, with actual college student peers. They get the real deal through our experience.
