Apprentice 09: The Church
The third area that the Apprentice survey sought to gain insight into was the extent to which people perceive disciplemaking to be on the agenda in their churches and how successful the church has been in equipping them for the issues they face.
Respondents were asked to state the extent to which they agreed with the following statements.
This set of responses clearly reveal a positive picture of the extent to which people feel supported by their church. Between 40% and 55% strongly agreed or agreed with each statement. Indeed, of all the groups it is interesting to note that those between 18 and 25 were particularly positive about the church and its leadership in their responses, for example 71% of people in this group feel that their leaders know how to grow people as life-long learners and apprentices of Christ.
However, two particular areas of concern are worth noting:
Equipping
The statement about equipping receives the lowest share of positive responses. Only 43% feel that the church is giving them the skills to live for Christ in today's world. Although, as has been seen, responses to these statements are positive, it is in the skill of connecting faith with life that the church is failing to adequately equip its members.
Expectancy
It is important to recognise that respondents were predominantly positive about the leadership of their church. 57% of respondents felt that their leaders were able to equip members as life-long disciples of Jesus. Instead their concern seems to be about the extent to which their co-congregants are coming to church to seriously engage with God. Only 48% felt that regular attendees go to church expecting to grow and change. This would seem to highlight a question of whether church becomes more of a habit rather than a habit-changing or forming experience for long term members.
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