Membership Report

2020: a year for the history books . . .

This past year has seen us continue to “shelter-in-place”, “socially distance”, and even learn to “mask-up” – all phrases that I’d never imagined that we’d get to know so well as we continue to be in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Combined with the social unrest we experienced last summer (and are still experiencing to some degree), the state of Texas freezing, a ship stuck sideways in the Suez Canal, a challenging presidential transition, along with other natural disasters, it seems like we’re living in a unique time in history.

Throughout that time, we’ve held pre-recorded services posted online, then in the fall re-opened church on Sunday mornings to a limited number of people (by reservation only), while services were broadcast live online. Then, as the Pandemic worsened, in the winter we moved back to sheltering-in-place and having services broadcast live. Now this spring, we’re in-person again with limited attendance per health guidelines and still holding virtual services simultaneously. We’ve all become much better at video conferencing, as we’ve held numerous meetings, prayer times, Neighborhood Care Group gatherings, Small Groups, etc. virtually while getting together in-person in backyards on a limited basis. Our quarterly business meetings (“Ministry Community Meetings”) have been pre-recorded and posted online while holding votes using an online platform. The result of all of this has meant that there’s naturally some amount of a sense of disconnectedness – and likely, for some more than others.

It also means that it’s difficult to gauge weekly attendance and “active” membership. We know that having online services can reach a wider audience that would not have normally been able to attend First Free, and it has had that effect. However, at the same time, quantifying its long-term impact and data -gathering is more challenging. The following charts reflect information gathered formally from direct communications throughout the year, and do not reflect “new faces” at church.

Some Statistics

• Our total congregation size, including children and youth, is 214, slightly down from 226 last year (a decrease of 5%).
• Our total membership is 97, down slightly from 101 last year
• 34% of our church is represented by children and youth!
• On average, we’ve had roughly 50% participation in every vote we’ve held virtually over the last year; with a different group of people voting each time.

Membership

First Free membership as of March 2021

Congregation Size

First Free congregation size as of March 2021

Of course, it’s difficult to peer into the future and see what the lasting impact of what we’ve been through over the last year will be; additionally, with the recent announcement of the departure of the Abbotts, we anticipate there will be some repercussion to church size, that only time will tell. However, we trust that God, “who began a good work . . . will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)” and that He’s moving ahead of us – if only we’re faithful to be obedient and keep covenant with Him.

I’ve recently been memorizing and praying these verses, from Isaiah chapter 4, for First Free:

May the presence of God at First Evangelical Free Church be so powerful and real that it’s visible – and even manifested by billowing smoke (!) – and that we would be a shelter, shade, refuge and hiding place during these stormy times!

With much love in Christ,

Tim Wilkin, Church Secretary