In Acts 2, Peter stood on the Southern Steps of the Temple and preached the very first sermon of the Church. In it, he outlined the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He talked about how the Old Testament pointed forward to who Jesus was and what he would do, he told of the mighty works of God shown through Jesus’ ministry, he blasted the crowds for their part in Jesus’ crucifixion, and he let them know that death could not hold Jesus but that he was resurrected according to the plan of God.
When the crowd asked what they could do, Peter’s response was simple: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you for the forgiveness of your sins…” As a result, “there were added that day about three thousand souls.” In Acts 4, that number grows to more than 5,000.
Growth was a given part of the movement of the church. The people listened to the apostles’ teaching, the shared life together, they gave to each other, and every day people were added to their number.
Today, the outlook for the Western Church is more bleak. Decline, not growth, has been more the norm. In one of the most important books to be written on the topic, The Great Dechurching, authors Michael Graham and Jim Davis, describe the problem by saying, “More people have left the church {since 1998} than all the people who became Christians from the First Great Awakening, Second Great Awakening, and the Billy Graham Crusades combined.”
This equates to a 40 million person decline in church attendance just in the last two and a half decades (and that does not take into account that there was already a steady but slower decline since the start of the Cold War). As a result, many churches have shrunk, if not closed completely, and this is especially true of churches in more mainline congregations.
The FPC difference
Thankfully, the situation is far different at FPC Lakeland!
Since September 2023, FPC has added more than 160 new members, and we have celebrated 42 baptisms with 21 of those being based on a profession of faith. This is more baptisms than we have seen in recent memory. Additionally, unlike many congregations, our weekly attendance across all services continues to climb to pre-pandemic levels.
Our Children’s Ministry has exploded in attendance. On Sunday mornings, the program has more than doubled while on Wednesdays it has grown by nearly 50%. Our ministry to the Special Needs population serves more than 80 families each month. In the month of June alone, more than 20 teens and six volunteers experienced the Gospel in a fresh way at Real Life Camp. Our Vacation Bible School saw more than 220 children (including more than 30 with special needs) and 90 volunteers learn how to trust Jesus no matter the circumstances.
In all this, the congregation has been more generous in financially supporting these efforts than ever before. It is definitely different at FPC! There is an excitement for the Gospel and passion for the church that is inspiring.
What makes FPC different?
What can we point to as being the catalyst for all this growth? We have revamped various areas of the Children’s Ministry to make the Gospel-centered programs more engaging. Our Special Needs Ministry continues to provide the highest level of care in Jesus’ name. We have intentionally added groups to connect parents and younger generations of adults. Our worship experiences excellently set an atmosphere of Christian joy and healing.
Our Youth Ministry is laying a new foundation of connections with teens. Our College and Young Adult ministry is breaking new ground and finding a wider foothold in Lakeland. Missions like Pedal Power and Celebrate Recovery have exploded in their reach to the most vulnerable. Our hospitality and connection to each other improve more and more with each passing week. We have a committed and talented staff who consistently exhibits the love of Christ. We have incredible volunteers who seek to leave a legacy of faith for the next generation.
Those are all amazing parts of the movement here at FPC, but they are not the heartbeat of the growth. What happened in the book of Acts gives us a glimpse of what is happening here. More than 50 times the work of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in connection to what is going on in the Church. More than 50 times, it is an unmistakable act of God that bears witness to who he is and what he is doing. And right now, the Holy Spirit is on the move at FPC! I can give you instance after instance of how God has done something that only he can do. I can tell you stories from the last two years, when prayers have been answered in ways that have no logical explanation and can only be a credit to God’s intervention. He is working at FPC, and it’s exciting to be along for the ride!
The future of FPC
We have been fervent in prayer and faithful to serve. My hope and expectation is that we will not rest on the gifts of the last two years and understand that God has only just begun. I continue to pray that we will ALL look for ways to join the Holy Spirit in what he is doing. Look for ways to break out of our routines and preconceived ideas of what has always been to see the possibilities of what could be if we let God’s Spirit move in us.
I know there will be more opportunities for us all to be about the Lord’s work here. So, read the announcements, listen to the messages, hear the challenges, and be ready to say, ‘yes’ to God’s Spirit. The harvest continues to be plentiful, and the Lord of the harvest is calling us to be his workers as we follow the Spirit’s lead.
by the Rev. Dr. Zac McGowen, FPC Outreach Pastor