Introduction The church has changed more in the last 100 years than anytime in its 2000 history. The life style from a rural/agarian society with families working to together to an industrialized society with separation of family members into organizational groups outside the local community. Small rural churches have turned into large mega churches touching areas that were never dreamed of a 100 years ago. Churches of various sizes have different problems which are solved in different ways. With radio, television, the Internet, and the car, outreach to church members, prospective members, and visitors have changed. People can easily get lost in the shuffle with an over load of social input. Some churches have developed procedures to bring the church members closer together in groups by age and social interest. Most "Church Management Software" attempts follow the individual/family and care for their needs. How the Ministry has Changed in the 20th Century Remember back when? Many changes have taken place in the church in the 20th Century, both the the emphases on the gospel and how the church (the body of believers) ministers to its members. In 1900, the minister's study was truely a study, i.e., no telephone, no fax, no secretary, an occassional assistant minister learning the profession, and no car. His study was quiet, few interruptions, many hours of study, prayer, and sermon preparation. A hundred years later, the minister(s) and staff have taken on a corporate environment. The study is now the church office with telephone calls, faxes, computers and intranet, internet, church member records, Sunday bulletins, newsletters, diplomas on the walls, custodial services, etc. With the many newly created duties, the minister hurriedly assembles notes for his sermons on Sunday. I have say "More people are killed with a Saturday night special, than with guns." Different Size Church have Different Opportunities Churches fall into three basic size groups: 1) Churches under 80 in attendance, 2) 80 to 200, and 3) those over 200. The problems of church management, duties of the minister, and usage of the church building change within these three groups. "Churches have more in common by their size than by their denomination, tradition, location, age, or any other single, isolatable factor" (Lyle Schaller, Activating the Passive Church: Diagnosis and Treatment, 25-26.). For more than decade now, Mac Lynn has compiled statistics of the churches of Christ annually in Churches of Christ in the United States . Over 9,000 churches have less than 100 in attendance, 1500 churches between 100 and 300, and over 800 over 300 attending. Out of this number about 47% have an attendance less than 50 members. Everybody knows everybody on a first name basic, whose children are whose, and whose been in hospital and for what reason. Finances are handled by the church treasurer with months reports to the board. No budget, but enough money coming in to met all payments. If a family should move, a new family is brought in to take up the slack (If a new family is not recruited within a few months, the church downsizes, and other make up for the missing family.). Visitors are welcomed, but normally not encouraged to join. Other than knowing the visitor's name and where they are from, who they are visiting, to even why they came to church, are the only questions asked. No visitor cards or follow up information is collected or if it is, it is used for statistics for attendance reports. (Churches of Christ in the United States, 1997 Compiled by Mac Lynn) Churches with Less than 80 in Attendance While over 70% of the churches in the United States average less than 100 members attending on Sunday, and most of those average less than 50 members attending. Many of these churches are perfectly happy in a comfort zone, i.e., they know everybody, call the children by name, and nothing much happens to change the quiet atmosphere from Sunday to Sunday. Few visitors show up and church growth comes from the children growing up and having families of their own. All the church records of births by members are recorded as well as, baptisms, marriages, and deaths. Any attendance counts amount to a conformation of who is present and who is absent. During the following week someone follows up on why he/she/they were absent. If the church has a near full time minister, a telephone call would take care of knowing or some member follows up personally. In these cases, church management software would be a waste of time and effort, except to follow prespective members and visitors. Within the churches under 80 members, most members, unless their occupation requires them, have about forty people on a first name bases at a time. When this number approaches sixth discomfort begins to set in. When a group approaches eighty, people begin forgeting names and never missing someone if they are absent on that occassion. More than likely, the group divides into two separte groups. The magic number is "forty" (Lyle Schaller, "The Rule of 40", The Christian Ministry (Sept., 1983): 11-12 and Carl F. George How to Break Growth Barriers, 132-133.). Functioning care groups or cells groups within a church attempt to bring about workable solution. Churches with Between 80 and 200 in Attendance Churches between 80 and 200 The next magic barrier to growth takes place between 150 and 200 in attendance. Churches with More than 200 in Attendance Churches over 200       Small Groups     Membership Active members Inactive Members When is a member considered "inactive"? When he/she stops coming to church. Oh, you mean when you never see them again in a worship serivce. Some guide lines need to be drawn. If a person misses three Sundays in a row, a church member should contact that him/her,/family, and the results are about 85% of the time they will be back in church the following Sunday. The longer the church waits to act, the less likely they are to return. If a reason exists of hurt feeling, something that has happened, or something the minister has said, a members of the congregation can talk member to member to resolve any conflicts that might exist. After six months the possibility of them returning drops to a 50-50 chance of their ever reentering the church again. After four years, the chance of returning drops down to less than one percent. For statistical purpose, the inactive member can be put into four different catagories: 1) three to ten week, 2) to weeks to six months, 3) six months to four years, and 4) over four years. Visitors Visitors living within 30 miles Visitors living outside 30 miles           Membership: We offer two types of Membership: 1) Full Membership: A full member would enter as fully as possible into the life of this Church (only). A full member would also give her/his tithes and offerings to this ministry, and not divide them between two or more churches. Full membership has certain advantages such as, for instance, the recognition and honour of serving on the Church Council, and to be considered as possible lay delegate for UFMCC, you would also have the right to vote at our annual Church Meetings. (Please note that if you already have membership at a church which you no longer attend, then Full membership might be a viable option for you. You do not have to apply to transfer your membership of your previous church for the sake of confidentiality. Simply sign the application for Full Membership.) a) Active or Inactive: With regards to Full Membership, we further differentiate between Active and Inactive Members. An Active Member is one who is in good standing with the church as far as: registered attendance, identified financial support, definite service contribution and demonstrated interest and loyalty is concerned. Any member who does not exhibit such support for a period of six months, is placed on the list of Inactive Members. The rights of an Inactive Member will then revert to that of a Dual Member as set out below. 2) Dual Membership: A Dual Member is better defined as a Friend of the Church. This is someone who, for one reason or another, divides his/her time between two or more churches. They support the vision of this Congregation and wish to be involved with the work of this church, but still retain membership of another. They may however not serve on the Church Council, nor are they allowed to vote at the congregational meetings. They may also not be elected as a Lay Delegate for UFMCC. Visitors: We encourage and welcome all peoples to visit our congregation. We would appreciate it if you would complete a visitors form so that we may keep contact with you in the future and notify you of any exciting developments in the life of our congregation. We give you our word that all information is treated with the strictest confidentiality - we don't give out numbers and names to anybody other than those serving on the Church Council. Change of Personal Details: Has any of your personal detail first submitted to the church changed? If so, please ensure that the Church Secretary has your latest information so that we may update our database. All data is treated confidentially. The unchurched