What 3ABC Could Be Today
By Bruce Keisling August 16, 2006
A week or so ago I wrote a post about “Where the other generations” had gone. You can scroll down and read it if you would like. It basically offered an explanation for the fact that we have no middle aged people and very few senior citizens in our church. I wrote that because I had been asked by some visitors about the missing generations. They noted how some other churches they had visited were like us. I must confess that I wrote that post with some bit of defensiveness, as I often answer the question. We also recently had a vistor who said that it was like the youth group was running our church. But I am particularly pained by those who were older members in our church but despite our attempts to love them, left our fellowship.
As gently as I can, I always try to explain the realiites of what our situation has been. We have had a very large physical plant, we had over 1,100 people on the rolls and about 40-50 attending. 3ABC was discussing whether or not to have a bi-vocational pastor in 1999 because they couldn’t afford to pay the pastor and the chior director and the organist and the pianist. The pastor had to be cut according to some. The future was bleak because not even the children and grandchildren of our members were attending or supporting the church. Over 1000 members didn’t show up or send us a dime. As I said, I explained briefly in my other post why this happened.
When I came to 3ABC though, I soon learned of another church about 8 blocks down on 4th street in a similar situation. 4th Ave. Baptist Church had about 50 people, a big building, and probably a very large membership. I learned yesterday that the remaining 36 people at 4th Ave. Bapt. voted to merge with Walnut Street Baptist Church and close. They haven’t determined what to do with their property yet. 4th Ave. was the church home for a good number of SBTS faculty when the seminary was downtown. It is a very historic church in this city. And now it is closing. They were probably still paying the choir director and organist.
So my question is would you rather have the youth group running the church or no church?