THE STATE OF THE

CONFERENCE

Purpose:The Mississippi Annual Conference–

empowered by love, generosity, justice and apprenticeship– forms

spiritual leaders, faith communities and connections so more disciples of

Jesus Christ transform the world.

The Larger Picture

For the last ten years worship attendance has decreased on average 52,383 per year.

The Denomination’s Decline

Disassembly of Structure: 1974-2012

District Study Districts 534 Churches 32,000

Regression Results

An increase of ten churches in a district is expected to decrease district worship attendance by 1.07%

Projections: Constant Decline

By 2030, the average district will have 32.4% more local churches

than in 1990.

Projections: Constant Decline

By 2030, the denomination in the U.S. will likely have declined to a point in which a turnaround is not possible. By 2050, the

connection will have collapsed.

Average Attendance of the General Church

19741976

19781980

19821984

19861988

19901992

19941996

19982000

20022004

20062008

20102012

2014 -

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

4,000,000

General Church

Average Attendance of Mississippi

19741976

19781980

19821984

19861988

19901992

19941996

19982000

20022004

20062008

20102012

2014 -

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

Mississippi

Payout Rate for the General Church

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 201478.00%

80.00%

82.00%

84.00%

86.00%

88.00%

90.00%

92.00%

94.00%

General Church

Payout Rate for Mississippi

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 201472.00%

74.00%

76.00%

78.00%

80.00%

82.00%

84.00%

86.00%

88.00%

90.00%

Mississippi

Combined Graph

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 201465.00%

70.00%

75.00%

80.00%

85.00%

90.00%

95.00%

MississippiGeneral Church

Stages of Development

1950-1970 Developing awareness 1970-1990 Debating causes of decline 1990-2010 Exploring solutions 2010-2030 Crisis: last chances 2030-2050 Selling off the assets

2015-2030 Final Window?

Is a turnaround possible within the remaining time? At what point does the

leadership lose hope?

Challenges

Strapped by disciplinary requirements and declining funds

Strapped by “heritage” spending, pensions and health benefit costs, and limited budgets

Most lack effective leadership Most are poorly located Many have the capacity to grow

General Conference

Annual Conferences

Local Churches

An Orchestrated Turnaround 1.New Church Starts

2. Church Revitalization a. Benchmark b. Healthy Church Initiative c. Others?

3. Clergy Leadership a. Recruitment b. Training

4.Episcopal Leadership a. Conclaves (SCJ, NEJ) b. Projections (six annual conferences)

Projected Turnaround

Requirements: new church starts, proven revitalization programs national in scope, no shortage of trained

elders and God’s blessings.