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Showing posts from February, 2014

State of the Church 2014

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How are we doing at making disciples of Jesus Christ who transform the world? 2013 was a great year for Salem. Still, in assessing the state of Salem, there are some benchmark statistics to which we want to pay attention. Salem’s membership includes 244 people. This past year 2 members died and none transferred to other congregations. We received 24 new members in 2011, 19 new members in 2012, and in 2013 we received 15 new members (11 by transfer from other congregations and 4 by profession of faith). That means we have received 58 new members since arriving at our current location a little over three years ago! Our worship attendance increased just slightly. We now average 177. With our membership at 244, however, we continue to get healthier. Whereas many congregations only see about 30% of their members in attendance, Salem has over 70%! The healthiest congregations, though, have greater attendance than membership. Not only are all the members present but several new people