Pastor’s Ponderings—December 2024
To the church of God as found at Marion Salem Church, called to be saints together with those in every place who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: You are miracles of God’s grace and mercy!
On November 12th, a small group from Salem Church gathered in the sanctuary for our annual church conference. Part of that meeting includes the pastor sharing a vision statement for the congregation. What I shared that evening is important to the future of Salem Church and needs to be shared with the congregation at large. It would take too much space to reprint it in our newsletter, so for space sake, I am offering an abbreviated version of the six items that I believe we need to take on. There is hard truth telling that we need to do:
• We need to fill the vacancy in our youth director position. More importantly we need more interest shown by the congregation in our youth.
• Ideally, we need to actively work towards a family life director—not just a youth director. It is the lack of programming for the entire family that has caused two active young families to seek out other congregations in the last two months. How can we grow if we cannot hold onto those already here?
• This congregation needs a lay leader. This pastor needs a lay leader. The lay leader is the chief cheerleader or encourager for the congregation. Helping everyone to connect their life as disciples in church to their everyday life as witnesses of Jesus Christ in the home, workplace, school, neighborhood and community.
• Our facilities are well cared for, however we have big ticket items (roof and HVAC being two) that require us to go beyond a regular maintenance budget. Salem’s facilities were designed to hold 200+, yet we worship on average 91. We need a building and capital campaign that will account for all these needs over the next several years before they overwhelm us. This includes plans for future parsonage families years from now.
• We need to encourage spiritual generosity. Salem is excellent at mission giving. We need to work on stewardship for budget planning purposes by participating in New Consecration Sunday. In looking at the future, we should also prepare for a potential funding gap through endowed gifts and utilize partners that make such giving possible.
• We need to prayerfully dedicate a group of people to the work of a Vision Team. This team would articulate a preferred future for Salem, and they would provide the ground work for a disciple making system to get us there. They would spend much time in prayer and learning and pass their findings on to the Ad Council for adoption or action.
Nothing of what I share here is new. I have mentioned such things going back to the Pastor Meet and Greets last summer. While I am putting words and framework to these items, none of this is unique to me either as others have shared these thoughts as well.
The end of the story is this: we have a lot of work to do. Disaffiliation is easy in comparison to the hard work that being and making disciples asks of us all. I shared at the church conference that we have two years to make inroads on these matters before we are overwhelmed by decline and forced to make drastic and unwelcome changes. Unprompted, the elder presiding at our church conference echoed that sentiment and warned that other churches have had the same opportunity, squandered the time they had, and now struggle to do the ministry they feel God calls them to do. I know that there are many good people here at Salem ready to step up to the work God has called us to do. Now is the time to dedicate ourselves to it.
Blessings!
Jason
1640 Salem Road, Caledonia, OH 43314
419-947-5383 • MarionSalemChurch.org
10 am Worship 9 am Sunday School
