What If Bethlehem Didn’t Exist?

One thing that has become clear in the wake of the pandemic we have just gone through is that measuring the success of a church is more difficult than it has ever been. 

I have often heard it said that one of the best measurements for determining a church’s effectiveness is to ask: “if your church were to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow, would anyone in the community around you notice you were gone?”

Timothy Keller, the pastor and scholar who is sometimes cited as the source of that question, goes on to say: “And if the community did notice would they say ‘we are really glad they are gone,’ or ‘we are really going to miss them’?”

To me, there is no question.  If Bethlehem disappeared tomorrow, our community would notice and we would be missed.  We are an important part of our community.  If for no other reason, the community would notice the disappearance of the Fish Fry.   So often when I meet some of our neighbors and try to describe our congregation, if they are not sure where we are, or who we are, all I have to say is, “we are the church of the fish fry.”  They almost always reply, “oh yea, we know that church.”

The fish fry is a huge community event.  It also gives us a great opportunity to introduce the church to the community and to raise funds for missions and ministry.  It would be hard to calculate all the important missions and projects we have supported with funds from the fish fry down through the years. 

Of course, we are known for a lot of other things besides the fish fry.  We have held fish fries for 48 years, but we have been a congregation since the middle of the 19th century.  Imagine all the weddings, funerals, baptisms, and confirmation classes that have taken place at Bethlehem.

Without Bethlehem, we might not have Feed America First or Love on Wheels, important and powerful expressions of the love of Jesus Christ to some of the most vulnerable of our community and beyond.  Without Bethlehem, the homeless would have one less place to stay during the coldest winter months.  Without Bethlehem, they might not have a warm meal. 

The community that would miss us if we were gone extends well beyond Williamson County.  We have helped with building projects in the Dominican Republic, helped with rebuilding in Kentucky after tornadoes, and our children have provided funds through VBS for individuals in Africa to have sewing machines they can use to become self-sufficient. 

When we say our community would miss us if we are gone, the community experiencing that loss literally extends throughout the world. 

However, I recently heard of another question a congregation might use to measure effectiveness.  While it is important to know whether or a not a congregation’s community would notice and miss the church if it disappeared, it is equally important and maybe even more important to determine whether or not the members of a congregation would miss it if it were to disappear. 

I realize the question can seem silly and even ridiculous.  Of course, the members of a church would notice if the place they gathered for worship suddenly disappeared. However, at another level the question takes on greater significance.  We have obviously had huge drops in attendance due to the pandemic and other factors.  We are not alone.  My former church now offers only one worship service on Sunday mornings.  Sometimes I am encouraged to combine our worship services into one here at Bethlehem.  We may need to consider combining the services if our attendance continues to decrease. 

Sometimes it seems to appear that many of our members relate to the church as if we have disappeared.  I hope that is not true.  We are learning that the standards we have used to measure the vitality and effectiveness of congregations have changed.  The pandemic and issues surrounding disaffiliation in the United Methodist Church have radically changed church life and how we evaluate our effectiveness.

What I do know and believe with all my heart is that worshipping together is important. I am so grateful that we are able to make on-line worship available for our homebound members, but there is no substitute for coming together in worship whenever possible. 

In 1 Thessalonians when Paul prays that their “love would increase for each other and everyone else,” he certainly had love for unbelievers in mind, but also fellow Christians. 

We are here for our community, but we are also here for one another.  

Who would miss Bethlehem if the church was to disappear?  I know I would.