Report of the

Board of Church Health

            The Board of Church Health met four times during the year to begin its steps of strengthening church health. Numerous pastors and churches were talked with and three churches were visited. Ronald C. Mahurin, Conference Pastor, met with the Board to discuss opportunities for ministry to our churches.

            In October 2005, an Adjourned Session of Annual Conference presented materials from Rev. Carl Shank and Natural Church Development, including a survey that could ascertain the health of the local church. All Bible Fellowship Churches were urged to consider participating in that survey. We are pleased to note that 13 of our congregations have completed the survey and found it to be valuable on a local level. Carl Shank assisted us as a Board in compiling the surveys for a general overview of local church results. He found that the overall responses from the 13 churches showed our strengths to be “Need Oriented Evangelism” with secondary strengths being shown in the areas of Functional Structures, Inspiring Worship, and Holistic Small Groups. The average combined score in all areas was 46, below the median point of the healthy church range and just below the Northeast average of 48. We found it significant that the area of greatest need was “Loving Relationships” where our average score was 38. As further results come in from BF Churches in the coming year, we will continue to compile and compare the findings. We believe it would be valuable for each local church to consider ways they can develop and strengthen relationships within their congregations during the year ahead.

            If your congregation has not yet participated in the survey from Natural Church Development, we urge you to consider doing so in 2007. We are so committed to this process that the Board of Church Health is willing to provide financial assistance to churches that would find the $300 fee to be prohibitive. Please contact our secretary or chairman for more details. To schedule a survey, contact Rev. Carl Shank at 717-385-6468 or at cshank@antrimbic.org.

            We look forward to being a supportive ministry to you and your churches during the year ahead.

The Board of Church Health recommends the following:

Whereas, it is the goal of the Board of Church Health to support and assist Particular Churches in need, and

Whereas, it is imperative that benchmarks be established to allow the Board of Church Health to initiate discussions with local churches with the goal of assisting them in their ministries, therefore, be it

Resolved, that any one of the following criteria be considered a benchmark to allow the Board of Church Health to initiate discussion with the local church:

1.   Three consecutive years where attendance declined more than 5% per year.

2.   Three consecutive years of declining offerings.

3.   An Elder Board that has declined to fewer than two lay elders.

and further

Resolved, that all new Particular Churches be placed on a two year probation with open accountability to the Board of Church Health.

Board of Church Health: Carl K. Spackman, Chairman; Robert A. Sloan, Vice Chairman; Byron Widger, Secretary; Robert C. Kaatz, Richard T. Paashaus, Ronald W. Reed, Clyde W. Snyder, Robert H. Zentz.