2021: A Year In Review
As you know, 2021 was a tough year for many people. It was also a hard year for many churches across the country. The latest statistics show that average church attendance is only 30-60% of what it was pre-Covid, 38% of pastors are considering stepping away from full-time ministry, and as many as 15,000 churches are facing the decision of having to close or merge with another church. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Many churches and pastors across the country are also reporting great news, including one church in Texas that baptized over 600 people in 2021! One big positive is that the current conditions are forcing churches to re-evaluate and prioritize the heartbeat of their ministry. Their focus is shifting to more evangelism, discipleship, and even community engagement….all things that the Church should be focusing on.
With that being said, 2021 was a great year for City Awakening Church! We feel beyond blessed for the way God continues to work in and among our congregation. Our weekly church attendance is back to 100% of pre-Covid numbers. 18 people became covenant members of City Awakening last year. We baptized 8 people. And we saw approximately 60 first time guests over the course of the year!
But, those are just numbers, and numbers don’t always tell the whole story. What was even more encouraging was to see relationships grow as couples met for the first time at our marriage conference and discussed how to have a more Christ-centered marriage, or a group of men who showed up with friends and neighbors they’ve been pouring in to for our wild game dinner because they wanted them to see the benefit of Christian community. It was healing to hear people share some of their most intimate struggles and praises during their Missional Community Group, knowing that the people in the group genuinely love them and the Gospel means they don’t have to hide in shame. It was comforting to watch the church respond over and over again with meals and supplies as families quarantined, recovered from surgeries, or grieved the loss of a loved one. And it was humbling to watch the generosity of our church, giving to individual needs without being prompted and giving to the church budget faithfully (in a year when inflation is up more than 6%), which led us to take in more money in offerings than we ever have!
In 2021 City Awakening saw the church be the church. It isn’t always pretty, polished, and put together. It’s real people, dealing with real problems, and responding in grace, love, and faithfulness because the blood of Jesus unites us, his hope motivates us, and his Spirit empowers us to act selflessly towards others.
Our hope for 2022 is to see more of the same. We pray to grow in number as we continue to invite people to seek truth and find joy in community. We pray we see our giving continue to grow so that we can have a greater impact locally and globally. We pray we see more people profess faith in Jesus Christ, follow him in baptism, and join arms with our church family. We pray more people connect in intentional discipleship relationships and small groups. And we pray that the Glory of God would shine bright as we study His Word together and allow it to transform our lives.
Will you join us this year? Join us in praying for these things and join us in actively participating in the mission of our church. Attend services, serve on a team, join a small group, give faithfully and sacrificially, and live on mission every day, in every space. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for this year, and we hope that you will be a part with us.
If you’re ready to take a next step with City Awakening Church, visit our Connect page and get started.
