Assemblies of God survey prompts call for more effective discipleship

|PIC1|More than half of Assemblies of God churches have seen an average growth of 10 per cent or more in their worship attendance over the last five years.

According to results from a recent survey conducted for the General Council of Assemblies of God, 56 per cent of AoG churches reported such growth while 29 per cent reported a decline of at least 10 per cent.

AoG leaders are encouraged by the statistics but concerned about the health of discipleship in the pentecostal denomination.

According to the survey, conducted by LifeWay Research, less than 35 per cent of pastors in AoG churches reported that 60 per cent or more of their congregation is involved in a small group or Sunday School.

Moreover, 49 per cent of churches said they do not regularly evaluate their congregation's discipleship progress.

Taking a closer look at discipleship, the survey examined not only the number of new commitments and baptisms in AoG churches but also the active involvement of those new believers.

Findings show that 35 per cent of Assemblies of God churches reported six or more conversions among youths and 47 per cent reported at least six conversions among adults in the past 12 months.

In terms of moving the newly committed toward ministry, 11 per cent of churches said none of the newly saved youths became active in church life; 47 per cent said two to five of them became actively involved; and 24 per cent said at least six of the converted youths became involved in the church.

Thirty-four per cent of churches reported that at least six of the adults who made a commitment to Jesus Christ became involved in church life. Only seven per cent said none of the newly committed adults became actively involved.

Wes Bartel, Discipleship Ministries Agency director, said there's room for much improvement in the area of discipleship.

"Given the clarity of the Great Commission, it was important for us to once again stress the importance of the discipleship mandate," Bartel said, according to the Assemblies of God news service. "It’s very easy for pastors and leaders to be caught up in the issues that we face lose sight of the core things we are called to pursue."

The survey also measure the involvement of the congregation overall. Twenty-four per cent of AoG churches reported 60 per cent or more of adults have regular responsibilities at church and 21 per cent said 30 per cent or more of the adults in their congregation serve people in their community. Also, 27 per cent said 30 per cent of their congregation were personally involved in outreach.

The survey highlights a disconnection between what attendees of AoG churches know about reaching out and their actions. While 93 per cent of AoG pastors said their congregation understands it is every Christian's responsibility to share the Gospel with non-Christians, 61 per cent of pastors said most of their congregants actually feel comfortable that they can share their belief in Christ to someone else effectively.

Other findings show that the overwhelming majority (98 per cent) of pastors agree that most of their congregants consider the Bible authoritative and turn to it as the source of truth and wisdom for daily living and 85 per cent of pastors agree that most of their congregation reads the Bible a few times a week or more.

Results of the survey are based on 2,614 responses that were received online and on paper through January 2009.