Church traditions

 Unless your church is a new church startup, it has a number of traditions that have served it well over the years. Even new churches will sometimes reflect the traditions the new church planter knew in former churches. Some of these traditions serve the church well and should be maintained. Others may need to be replaced if we are to reach a new generation of people.

It's important to remember that church traditions arose because they became convenient ways of doing things when the tradition was started. Chances are, they replaced older traditions that no longer worked well in a new culture. It is even more likely that the new ways of doing things were resisted by some who wanted to continue with their older traditions. Now, the traditions that replaced the older traditions are considered sacrosanct by the current membership despite the fact they are now a hindrance to the church.

Several years ago a rural church discussed paving their parking lot. Some in the church resisted believing that the gravel parking lot was sufficient. The pastor reminded them that before the gravel was added years earlier, the parking lot was dirt. This was fine when many of the members rode buggies and horses to church, but it became a problem when most of the membership started driving cars. Who wanted to get stuck in a muddy church parking lot? Today, the expectations of people, and especially the younger people churches claim to want to reach, expect better facilities. Who wants to walk through a muddy, or snow-covered, church parking lot when they don't have to do? They don't when they shop at their favorite stores. As an added example, the pastor reminded the congregation that it had only been a few decades ago that the church replaced their outhouse with an indoor restroom. He asked if anyone wanted to return to the outhouse. The church voted to blacktop the parking lot. Over the next couple of years it had to add additional parking because their lot had filled up.

What traditions does your church have that no longer add value to the church and may be limiting your growth? I can almost guarantee your church has them. Will it be easy to eliminate them? Probably not, but it will be necessary if you are to reach a new generation of people for Jesus Christ.