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Large Churches and Missional Centers | Nazarene Presence in the Northern California Megaregion (2007-2018)

8/25/2018

1 Comment

 
There is only one church over 1,000 in worship attendance: Yuba City Hope Point. There are two very close to one-thousand in average attendance in Lodi and Oroville. All are on the Sacramento district.

There are eight churches (on the infograph below) that reported over 600 in worship attendance. I consider this size of church to have the capacity to become a missional center: a base for church planting, preparing leaders, and offering significant support to the local and global missional impulse. 
These eight churches have one of every four Nazarene members in the NorCal megaregion and one of every three Nazarene church attenders. 

Of the 168 churches that reported attendance, about one-third have less than 45 in worship attendance. A little less than half are above 75 in worship attendance, which I consider to be the tipping point for a church's capacity to provide pastoral compensation, maintain a facility, and give sufficient resource to the missional impulse in their local and global context. It is not a statement or evaluation of a church's effectiveness in their communities. Therefore, it is necessary to rethink what a church needs to be within its local context and not with standards used in the recent past, such as counting nickels and noses, or buildings, butts and bucks. :)  

The geographic center of the NorCal megaregion is Modesto, Calfornia which allows easier access to Bakersfield, the Bay area, and Neveda. This location is important because it could become a base of operations for reaching this megaregion. 

NOTE: This megaregion has an odd, elongated shape. The primary reason for extending the reach so far south is that the population follows the I-5 corridor which follows the "breadbasket" of the Great Valley. The economic activity of this megaregion follows through this area, and this activity includes residential expansion, or seven million more people in the next 30 years. And, where people are so should the Church be.  
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Resources

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1 Comment
Network Cabling South Yuba City link
12/16/2024 12:40:00 pm

This article provides a thoughtful and thorough exploration of the Nazarene Church's growth and impact in Northern California from 2007 to 2018, highlighting the importance of large churches and missional centers in fostering community and outreach. It’s fascinating to see how these churches have adapted to meet the needs of a diverse and evolving population, using innovative approaches to ministry while staying true to their core values. The analysis of trends and the role these churches play in both spiritual and community development offers valuable insights into how religious organizations can thrive in a rapidly changing environment. This piece encourages reflection on the future of faith-based outreach and the evolving role of churches in their communities.

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