What if I told you that the average churches retention rate of unchurched, first-time visitors is less than 3% . . . would that shock you?

I can’t speak for every church across the world, but in my 14 years of pastoral ministry (plus the 19 where I grew up in a pastor’s home) this has been my experience.

In fact, I started keeping my own records about 10 years back and guess what I discovered . . . it’s less than 3%.

“It’s impossible to grow the church in this town.”

“No one cares about church anymore.”

“People aren’t going to give up their only day off to wake up early and go sit in a church to get yelled at.”

I have heard each and every one of these sentences come out of the mouths of heart-broken, defeated church folks… In fact, I said one of them (can you guess which one?).

Living things change... it's a fact of life.

Think about it in terms of a newborn baby. There are cycles to life. From newborn to infant to baby to toddler to early adolescence, there are some major changes that take place.

My daughter is 5 now. She does not look exactly the same way she looked 5 years ago. She is able to do things now that she couldn’t do back then, like walk and carry on a conversation (that makes sense—most of the time).

What has two thumbs, an exhausting drive, a bold and frequently loud voice/opinion and a leadership style that is, many times, shortsighted?

This guy (pictured above and is presently writing this blog post)!

Don’t quit on me, I am slowly (even though I’m really trying) growing and the following is a simple acknowledgement of the many areas I am a weak leader, as well as a plea for patience and grace.