We are praying for rain. We pray that Americans pay attention to what is happening in many parts of our nation. The drought situation is worsening. We are also in a spiritual drought here in America. Where are we going?
Governor asks Californians to voluntarily cut water use
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked people and businesses in the nation’s most populous state to voluntarily cut how much water they use by 15% amid a drought
Read in ABC News: https://apple.news/A8RRAHUGkQQe6A7c05O0dEA
California Drought Update
U.S. Drought Monitor
Spiritual Drought in America!
David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, shared that up to 20% of churches could permanently close as a result of the challenges of the pandemic by early 2022. While it remains to be seen if this prediction will hold true, there is ample evidence that churches are struggling with both keeping people engaged in God’s mission and reaching new people, two critical elements of a healthy church. In the most recent Unstuck Church Report (Q4 2020), churches reported being only slightly down in small group involvement however they showed a 56% decrease in the number of people baptized and a 44% decrease in the number of new people being added to their ministry databases. While tending to the needs of congregants was vital and appropriate at the outset of the pandemic, and ongoing pastoral care is needed, we find ourselves over a year later drifting from the missional call to reach others with the hope of Jesus. Yet it is precisely that life-transforming hope that our neighbors need, and not just need, but it is what they are seeking in these times of uncertainty.
