Numbers Show Trends

So I have been looking at some percentages and numbers over the last week. This could get a little scary coming from a past engineering graduate. I recently compared an average Sunday with the same Sunday from last year and found some interesting statistics of growth.

Based upon some numbers we have seen:

--At least 20% of our current average attendance have made first time decisions to follow Jesus through Awaken. This is approximately 15 people in the last year to year and a half. Though I can't find current trends with average churches I know this is high. This is like a church of 1000 seeing 200 people baptized and commit to follow Christ in one year.

--We have seen a 58% increase in our average attendance on Sunday Worship going from in the 20's last year to 50's and 60's this year. I know attendance doesn't tell everything like how Community Groups are growing and how close to half our Sunday Morning attendance is involved, but it does show a healthy sign of reaching and influencing new people.

--As most of you know our vision for starting a church here was to reach military for Christ and see them sent out. Over the past 6 months we have sent out about 8 family units or 16 people through military replacement, job transfers, and deployments. This is roughly 25% of our average attendence that we have seen go out to other places to take the gospel. We are accomplishing the Vision!!

--Based upon the above numbers of 58% and 25% means that our reach of ministry over the last year has grown to over 80% as a church in the last year. That means that if we were in a more traditional area we would be seeing about 75 to 80 people in average each week. Based upon some stats I saw this is almost double the size of most church plants almost 2 years in.

It is amazing for us to look back to almost two years ago and remembering there only being 9 people in our living room. For me this is a reflection of God's Grace in the influence he is allowing us to have in reaching people and seeing the gospel advanced.

Though the numbers show we are seeing God grow and build His Church here at Awaken some of those numbers make some of the work challenging.

Please pray for us...

1. When we are losing 25% of our people each year it makes it hard on several fronts. Leadership Development... we are developing leaders with sometimes no idea how long we may have them to help lead here.

2. Financial Giving... reaching 20% far from Jesus and even more unchurched we have to teach how them to Financially Give. Most of the time this is the last area for somebody to relinquish to Christ. As we continue to send people out it makes it hard as we work at becoming self supportive. Right now we are a little above halfway becoming a fully supportive church. Therefore our outside partners are crucial for us to continue this work.

3. We right now need to raise between $5000 and $10,000 more to stay on track. Please pray whether God might have you help meet this need and thanks for those that currently give and have given in the past. People's lives are being changed for eternity.

4. For our 2 Year Anniversary Celebration coming up on March 25th and Easter Sunday coming up on April 8th. We are asking for God to double us as a church this spring and summer.

5. That as we send people out through here that we would be able to continue to develop an internal leadership structure that could sustain growth and influence here locally.

6. Praise God with us for the influence he is allowing us to have!