They almost entirely sourced their membership with people from conservative Anabaptist churches.
Many of those people have left for less-conservative churches.
This is maybe true but at least a little bit misleading. FOTW has it ingrained in their theology to be incredibly evangelistic and to be present in city spaces which are devoid of plain churches, and have a large population of non-Christians in general. Their main attempts to source new members are specifically targeting non-believers.
However, the source of many members might be other plain churches, and this is probably because their literature and Sattler College appeal to "young, restless, and redical" population among Anabaptist churches.
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The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly.
-Søren Kierkegaard
Praxis+Theodicy wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 8:11 amFOTW has it ingrained in their theology to be incredibly evangelistic... Their main attempts to source new members are specifically targeting non-believers.
Stated mission is not always equal to functional mission. In the first year or two, this may be accurate, but in the last 6-7 years, this has not been the case. In the last number of years, the majority of the energy has been expended on recruiting and integrating Anabaptists into the churches (which they also consider to be part of evangelism).
They almost entirely sourced their membership with people from conservative Anabaptist churches.
Many of those people have left for less-conservative churches.
This is maybe true but at least a little bit misleading. FOTW has it ingrained in their theology to be incredibly evangelistic and to be present in city spaces which are devoid of plain churches, and have a large population of non-Christians in general. Their main attempts to source new members are specifically targeting non-believers.
However, the source of many members might be other plain churches, and this is probably because their literature and Sattler College appeal to "young, restless, and redical" population among Anabaptist churches.
As of a few months ago they had no long term members recruited locally from the cities they were in, and almost all of their membership was former plain Anabaptists (from rural areas).
They almost entirely sourced their membership with people from conservative Anabaptist churches.
Many of those people have left for less-conservative churches.
This is maybe true but at least a little bit misleading. FOTW has it ingrained in their theology to be incredibly evangelistic and to be present in city spaces which are devoid of plain churches, and have a large population of non-Christians in general. Their main attempts to source new members are specifically targeting non-believers.
However, the source of many members might be other plain churches, and this is probably because their literature and Sattler College appeal to "young, restless, and redical" population among Anabaptist churches.
As of a few months ago they had no long term members recruited locally from the cities they were in, and almost all of their membership was former plain Anabaptists (from rural areas).
How is that working for them? Are they growing or not?
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A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
Praxis+Theodicy wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 8:11 amFOTW has it ingrained in their theology to be incredibly evangelistic... Their main attempts to source new members are specifically targeting non-believers.
Stated mission is not always equal to functional mission. In the first year or two, this may be accurate, but in the last 6-7 years, this has not been the case. In the last number of years, the majority of the energy has been expended on recruiting and integrating Anabaptists into the churches (which they also consider to be part of evangelism).
Their theology suggests that they believe most Mennonites are unsaved, largely due to the baptismal regeneration/immersion being the only valid form model they push. I actually wrote a long article in Sword and Trumpet about that some months ago.
They offer the “bait “ of an almost free education to fill up their churches. Parents beware!
This is maybe true but at least a little bit misleading. FOTW has it ingrained in their theology to be incredibly evangelistic and to be present in city spaces which are devoid of plain churches, and have a large population of non-Christians in general. Their main attempts to source new members are specifically targeting non-believers.
However, the source of many members might be other plain churches, and this is probably because their literature and Sattler College appeal to "young, restless, and redical" population among Anabaptist churches.
As of a few months ago they had no long term members recruited locally from the cities they were in, and almost all of their membership was former plain Anabaptists (from rural areas).
How is that working for them? Are they growing or not?
Great, as long as they have the $$$$$$$ flowing in.
Ken wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:42 pmHow is that working for them? Are they growing or not?
I think they are down to about 50% of the members they had a year and a half ago. Most of the folks without Anabaptist influence have left the church in the last year and a half, as well as many from Anabaptist background.
Ken wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:42 pmHow is that working for them? Are they growing or not?
I think they are down to about 50% of the members they had a year and a half ago. Most of the folks without Anabaptist influence have left the church in the last year and a half, as well as many from Anabaptist background.
One of the traits of a transitional Anabaptist church is that only Anabaptist-background people stick around.
People from other backgrounds feel uncomfortable and eventually leave, whereas you can find a seeker family that joins Easterns and is seemingly content there 20 years later.
